


Better in Concept

by Elderon



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Beta Design AU, Bisexual Disaster Luz Noceda, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff and Humor, Luz is the smartest dumbass you'll ever meet, Pining, Underage Drinking, Useless Lesbian Amity Blight, amity has no idea how to speak to cute girls, and together they form voltron or something idk, beta amity cannot figure out how to be nice for the life of her, beta luz cannot figure out how to not be a snide sarcastic bastard for the life of her, somebody please get the blight siblings some therapy and new parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27014416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elderon/pseuds/Elderon
Summary: Long, unruly green hair. A dark studded bracelet, contrasting greatly with her frilly pink dress, and a deep scowl that screamed 'do not fuck with me'.She adjusted the badge on her lapel.How could Luz ever resist?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Boscha/Skara (The Owl House)
Comments: 110
Kudos: 644





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my hot take on beta lumity ^^ for context, they're around 16/17 in this universe bc i feel like it suited the way the designs looked and their personalities better. happy reading !! <3  
> Song for this chapter is Balance by Opus Orange !!

"Eda, I'm leaving, see you later!" The owl lady shooed her away absentmindedly, stirring her pot of green mush. It was… breakfast, apparently. The stuff looked and smelled like it would give her nearly every disease known to man, so she had politely declined the mug of sludge Eda had tried to hand her. 

She was always so aloof, but Luz knew that she cared, in her own peculiar way.

Habitually, she straightened her beanie, twirling a finger through a piece of her hair. The strands were getting rather long… maybe she could look into whatever haircut services they provided here if it became a problem. 

Despite the unpleasant feeling of her stomach twisting nervously with each step she took, a smile found her lips when Willow and Gus saw her enter the courtyard, waving her down with matching grins. She felt the sensation subside. What was there to be panicked about, anyway?

It was her first day as a full-course student, and she was going to enjoy it.

“Did you hear? After Bump put you and the detention track kids into multi-course tracks, he decided to offer it on sign up forms from now on.” Willow commented as the three made their way down the hall. She stopped to open her locker, picking out her abominations textbook from the bottom. 

“That’s fantastic! You planning to do a switch?” The witch pulled a little silver potted plant out of her locker, along with a few notebooks. Gus stared intently at a little paperback in his hands, muttering something under his breath. He was clearly too preoccupied to answer. Willow piped up instead.  
“I’m considering. A dual plant and healing track education could be useful… if I could ever get out of abominations.” The bell suddenly screeched out. Kids from all different tracks flooded the hallways, heading to their respective classes. “Bye, guys! See you at lunch.” The witch hurried off to her first period of the day.

Luz looked down at the small slip of paper Bump had given her, denoting her schedule. 1st period, Abominations Throughout History. It didn’t sound too bad, though she would admit she was a little disappointed when she found out Willow wasn’t in the same period as her anymore because of her and… that girl’s conflict. The name wouldn’t come to her mind, but from what she had heard, she was so obsessive over her leadership position that she had started fights because of it. Nothing overly physical, but still concerningly close to a full out brawl.

Well, sometimes Willow was quite volatile as well, so she wasn’t too concerned with sharing a class with this mysterious angry chick. And the previous week she had reviewed all of the material, so the risk of being embarrassed in front of the whole class was also, mostly gone.

The classroom was almost full once she took her seat near the front of the class. Her gray cardigan and beanie weren’t exactly typical Boiling Aisles fashion, but with the lack of a school dress code, she had slipped by with only a few unwanted stares as repercussions. 

There were other reasons she wore this specific cargo jacket- with it, nobody could see the earbud she laced up her sleeve, or know that she was listening to music whenever she pretended to rest her cheek against her hand. 

Nevertheless, she paid attention, giving correct answers to the teacher every time he asked for one, albeit somewhat carelessly. It was a talent of hers, being able to pick up everything that the professor was saying in front of her with one ear and simultaneously jamming out to James Euringer’s hardly coherent screaming with the other.

With every correct answer, he seemed to grow more and more impressed. By the end of class when she was packing up her bag, the professor approached her with a grin.  
“Miss Noceda! Only your first day in my class, and already you have far surpassed my expectations. You've earned this.” He held up a small star shaped pin, then fastened it to her front pocket. It read ‘TOP STUDENT’ in bold text. 

“Oh, um, thank you, sir.” She flung her bag over her shoulder, leaving the classroom without a second glance. What was this, fifth grade? She didn’t need a badge to know that she was a good student

Luz picked it off her shirt. It was just some metal pin enchanted with a spell that could keep it attached to a piece of fabric without any velcro or backing. 

She dropped it. Luz didn’t have any use for a flimsy pin; she was here to learn, not brag.

Illusions I was her next class. After a quick textbook exchange at her locker, she began the ascension to the top of the tower where the class was held. Around 5 steps away from the top, she glanced up.

A short pink dress, paired with dark leggings and studded bracelets. The crazy chick who had cussed out Willow in the cafeteria after she ‘cheated’ on the semester exam. Same girl who had made Willow transfer because they fought too much. She towered over her with a scowl, hands placed decisively on her hips, and the name finally came to mind.  
_Amity._

An ironic and unfitting name for the girl before her. 

Luz might have been intimidated by the solid few inches the witch had on her, but the frilly garb really just made her seem like a slightly aggravated pouty anime character. The human rolled her eyes as she reached the top of the staircase. 

Amity stood firm, directly blocking her path.

“Uh, can you move..? I need to get to my next class.” The girl didn’t respond, instead pulling something out of her pocket. The Top Student pin she had discarded.

“Looks like you dropped this.” 

“Guess I did.” Luz shrugged, trying again to circumvent her classmate. She remained stationary, legs set in a power stance.

“Look. You may be new here, but you should know. This pin, this title, they belong to _me._ ” She took a step forward. This brought their faces uncomfortably close. 

Luz felt the cool facade she had been putting up melt away, replaced with a definite redness in her cheeks. She wasn’t used to people violating her personal space so… flagrantly.

“Let this be a warning.” With a decisive, forceful movement the witch pushed the pin back onto her chest. 

Luz hadn’t expected her to do that. She also hadn’t expected the gesture to make her heel slip, right off the edge of the top stair.

The human tumbled backward down the stone stairs, thankfully only hitting her head once thanks to her immediate instinct to curl up when threatened. Once she finally came to a stop at a flat, the shock of the fall was immediately replaced with anger, seething through her veins like a heat-seeking missile whose only target was a particular sophomore at Hexside. That little-

She took a deep breath, in, then out. Everything stung, but nothing was broken. She would be fine. She was ok.

It wasn’t too surprising how things turned out. Willow very clearly told her that there was a reason most people avoided Amity; she was freakish about her position as a top student. Luz had no idea she had meant it so literally, that a tiny piece of cheap metal could mean that much to anybody.

Her vision was oddly fuzzy. When she summoned the strength to finally sit up on her hands, the screech of the bell sounded out. Amity was nowhere to be seen.

This was just great. It was only her first day and she was already late for class. Eda would probably be proud, though she would probably be feeling something more menacing than pride if she found out that Luz had decided to fistfight one of her classmates on a Monday morning.

The human swallowed her pride, gathering her books before heading back to class.

* * *

After getting her tray of food, she sat down at a table with Willow and Gus, along with some assorted plant track kids, some girl from illusions with green hair, and her friends from the ex detention track. Viney gasped when she sat down.  
“What?”

“Your face…” The girl made a motion to her cheek, and when Luz touched it, she recoiled. An incredibly sensitive bruise had consumed her cheekbone. 

"Oh, yikes… does it look bad?" She grimaced, nodding along with Willow and a few other students staring at her.

The anger flared back up in her chest, but she forced it back down. She was not going to make a big deal out of one little mishap. Amity could be a good friend to have, or, at least, somebody good to not be on the bad side of. The witch was at the top of the class for a reason.

“How did that even happen?” Willow’s concerned look melted into one of mild irritation.

“Oh, nothing… I just fell down the stairs when I was going to illusions.” It wasn’t technically a lie. More like something of a half-truth.

“Really? A fall like that only gave you a bruise? That stairwell has nearly killed kids before.” She shrugged.

“Guess I was lucky?” Her skeptical expression let Luz know she wasn’t fooling anybody, but that she was willing to let it slide.

“Sure… anyways, have you guys seen the new bard track teacher? Yeah, I heard…” Their voices slowly dissolved into white noise as Luz glanced around the cafeteria, looking for something. No, someone.  
She was sitting among the school’s ‘upper crust’ group, mainly made up of rich, bitchy popular girls and bullies who spent more time cyberbullying classmates for being poor or ugly than they did actually paying attention in class. Amity seemed to fit right in, but she looked oddly uncomfortable. The witch sat on the edge of the group, too engrossed with her scroll to engage in conversation. Her nose scrunched as she did something on the screen.

Somebody seemed to catch on to her lack of attention to the conversation, which had edged into a chat about what the most powerful magic track combination one could take.

“Luz? You ok?” Willow frowned, following her eyes, but apparently to the wrong target. “Oh, you don’t have a scroll yet, right? Here.” She drew a circle and pulled out a little black tube.  
“This is my old scroll. I don’t use it anymore, so you can have it, to keep up with classmates and stuff. Here’s my penstagram.” She opened the scroll, swiping down until she found the notes app, and quickly jotted her tag down.  
“Everybody, write down your penstagram handles here. Luz is finally getting an account!” The device made its way around the table, each of her friends(as well as some assorted classmates she didn’t really know but seemed friendly enough) writing their own usernames down until finally, it ended up in her hands.

“It’s not hard to navigate, but if you have any trouble just message me, ok?”

“Ok. Thanks, Willow.”

And that was how she found herself glaring at the dim screen of the scroll at around 2 am, debating whether or not to add the recommended account that popped up underneath Emira’s profile. 

A lovely tag, @thatwitchbitch, followed up by a familiar name. 

_Amity Blight._

Well, it wouldn’t be that weird to follow her, right? It looked like her and Willow were still mutuals despite not being on… well, the best of terms, to say the least. After debating for a moment, she finally pressed follow. 

Almost immediately there was a new message in her inbox, from Amity herself. Who else would it be?

**thatwitchbitch: Who is this**

She pondered even responding, but finally decided that if her tag hadn’t been enough to tip Amity off that she might as well have a little fun before telling her.

**luzing-noceda: the demon king**

**thatwitchbitch: Wow ur so funny**

**thatwitchbitch: Let me try to find where I was supposed to laugh again**

**thatwitchbitch: Oh wait**

**luzing-noceda: so rude 😞**

**luzing-noceda: especially to somebody you don’t even know**

**luzing-noceda: what if im actually your soulmate from the future that came back in time to profess my undying love to you**

She almost snorted at the idea. The mere prospect of them being soulmates sounded like something directly out of an Azura/Hecate enemies to lovers fanfic. Not that she held any particular distaste towards them- she just knew that they were highly unrealistic depictions of what a healthy relationship looked like.

**thatwitchbitch: Your block button is looking so good rn**

**luzing-noceda: fine fine! i bend! your persuasion was too strong, oh noooo~**

**luzing-noceda: this is Luz, the girl u pushed down the stairs yesterday**

**luzing-noceda: still waiting for my sappy heartfelt apology tbh**

**thatwitchbitch: Ok well first of all that was your fault you fucking twink**

**thatwitchbitch: Everybody knows that I’m top student and that badge is mine, and anybody who decides to take the title and then disrespect it deserves to get a stairwell induced concussion**

**thatwitchbitch: Second of all, i didn’t push you on purpose**

**thatwitchbitch: I gave you the pin back, which I fully plan on earning back tomorrow, and you lost your balance**

**luzing-noceda: yeah but like, you still made me fall**

**luzing-noceda: such a sweet and caring friend you are**

**luzing-noceda: but willow did mention that most students who’ve taken that fall died or at least broke something, yet somehow i got away with only a little bruise**

**luzing-noceda: starting to suspect miss amity blight might have saved me a little bit of fall damage ;)**

**luzing-noceda: you do have a heart after all ! i was beginning to suspect it was just empty in there**

**thatwitchbitch: Good. Night.**

Luz laughed to herself. Sure, she was being rather rude, but it’s not like it mattered. She had about as much interest in making out with a dog as she did in becoming friends with Amity, even if she was really pretty and smart with a nice sense of style and a glare that made her insides twirl-

God, what the fuck was wrong with her?

She scrolled through her short list of contacts. 

**luzing-noceda: hey willow?**

**plant.mom: what’s up? also, why are you awake -_- we have school tomorrow**

**luzing-noceda: i knowwwwwww**

**luzing-noceda: something was bugging me so i couldnt sleep**

**luzing-noceda: so uh**

**luzing-noceda: how do you like,, talk to pretty girls without sounding like an asshole?**

**plant.mom: oh titan**

**plant.mom: just out of curiosity, who is this ‘pretty girl’ :?**

**luzing-noceda: that, my friend, is classified information**

**plant.mom: ughhhh why must you always be like this**

**luzing-noceda: like what? a super swaggy friend?**

**plant.mom: we’ll talk more at school tmrw. I refuse to help without knowing at least a little bit of context**

**luzing-noceda: fineeeeeeeeee**

She snapped the device shut and placed it on her bedside table.

Only 10 days into her career as an aspiring witch and she had already made enemies. Not that she couldn’t handle it- back in the human realm, she didn’t have any friends, so only a few people disliking her was a major upgrade.

Still, the feeling of unrest lay with her like a frigid beast, cold and terrible, at the thought of this Amity girl hating her. She shouldn’t have even cared, since the witch clearly didn’t. It was just in her old nature; back when she was 14, she had seen the good in everybody, helped others achieve redemption through any means necessary and purposefully tried to befriend even the most bitter of classmates.

She wondered if that disposition on life had ever truly left her, snuggling deeper into the downy comforter Eda had given her after feeling guilty about making her sleep on the floor.

Maybe her second day of witch school would be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> amity: *shoves luz down the stairs*  
> luz: bro r we flirting rn?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill  
> if anybody was wondering, YES i am writing these two based off of early 2000’s soft goth and punk kids respectively cuz like, have u SEEN their outfits?? Frilly pink dress w a faux leather studded bracelet?? Oversized cardigan, skinny jeans, and a beanie?? Please- so yeah this is going to sound like a harry styles wattpad self insert fic at some points and i wouldn’t have it any other way

Her second day was uneventful, to say the least. Amity won back the Top Student pin almost immediately, which was to be expected, but a part of her still wanted to fight for it even if it meant nothing, if only to attract Amity’s attention.

Of course, when she received Willow’s vague advice on flirting, she never explicitly said… not to do dumb shit to get on said pretty girl’s nerves, so at least there was that. Besides, all of the stuff she said just sounded like flowery recycled bullshit advice taken straight from the synopsis of a hallmark Christmas movie, and considering she wasn't a straight white Christian woman, and still unsure of exactly what she felt when she was around the witch, it wouldn't be too useful anyway.

After a long few days of being completely ignored, the first interesting thing to happen all week came to her on a lazy Saturday afternoon in the form of a green poster tacked up on a town bulletin, hidden beneath a few restaurant ads.

 _Azura Book Club_. She hummed in consideration, jotting down the time and location for future reference. Not that she was planning on attending it or anything- book clubs weren't really her style. It was merely something to take note of. 

How she, after all that, found herself with her feet kicked up on the table in the designated meeting room 5 minutes before it was set to begin, she wasn’t completely sure.

Maybe it was the curiosity of how they even got Azura books in the Boiling Aisles, or the fact that she could probably sneak past the librarians to see that wailing star event later next week if she joined; either way, it was now too late to leave. A few minutes later, people began filing into the room, each armed with an Azura book under their arms.

And leading the pack? It was, naturally, none other than Amity Blight herself. She hadn’t seemed to notice the human yet. Luz, on the other hand, had barely recognized the girl as Amity at all. She was wearing an oversized peach sweater tucked into a pair of khaki shorts, and her hair was tied into a knot on the back of her head. It was almost as if…

It looked like she was trying her best to make sure nobody from school knew it was her. Like this club was a _secret_.

Oh, the devious things Luz could do with that information if she wasn’t a good person. Unfortunately, her mother had ingrained within her a sense of morals, some of which she had discarded, as she was not past beating somebody up, but spreading harmful gossip wasn’t exactly her cup of tea.

Amity finally seemed to notice her, looking past her combat boots haughtily propped up on the table, and she seemed to freeze.

Luz didn’t recognize any of the other people from school which somewhat confirmed her suspicions. She tried to give the witch her best ‘I won’t tell the popular girls because I don’t like them or care’ expression, but given the fact that it was incredibly difficult to express that only with her face, it probably just made her look dumb. Amity’s look turned from scared to confused very quickly, but she eventually just looked away and sat down, taking a deep breath in, then out.

“Ok. Hello everybody! How’re we feeling today?” Everybody in the circle said something along the lines of ‘good’ or ‘meh, there was a test today’, basic responses to the question. She went along with it, muttering a quiet ‘ok’ under her breath.

“That’s good. Today, we’ll discuss chapter 16. What did you all think of that cliffhanger?” It was almost as if Amity had transformed into a completely different person. Her voice was a slightly lower pitch, and she spoke with kindness, not a hint of impatience in her demeanor. She had seemed completely relaxed before laying eyes on Luz, too. This club must have meant a lot to her.

She tuned the chatter out as the table devolved into a discussion over Hecate’s suggested redemption arc based on her and Azura’s interactions throughout the chapter, given that Hecate could have killed her but didn’t. She had already thought through all of this and knew it to be true since she had read book 5, and instead found herself oddly fixating on Amity’s eyes, how weirdly cute they looked without her heavy eyeliner she wore to school.

The girl sitting next to her poked her arm slightly.

“Hm?” She looked very nervous.

“Oh, um, I was just wondering if you had any insight on the Hecate redemption arc? You’ve been, uh, quiet for a while… we also don’t know who you are.”

“Shoot, I’m sorry.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Luz, your resident token human. And the Hecate redemption arc happens halfway through chapter 3 in Azura 5.” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“A human? And there’s a book 5? You have to tell me more.” Suddenly, the quiet room was too loud, everybody leaning across the table to hear her talk about her journey to the aisles, but more importantly, Azura book 5. She pulled it out of her backpack, and everybody collectively lost their cool.

“Oh titan, please tell me you’ll lend it to us. We’ll take extra good care of it.” Luz laughed, brushing her thumb over the waxy cover. 

The only person who hadn’t moved caught her attention. 

It seemed that Amity wasn’t too happy about being upstaged in her own club, significantly uninterested in her story and her book. She felt a pang shoot through her chest- not one of jealousy, but… was it bad to wish that she would pay more attention to her?

“I only find it fit that your club president reads it first. Here.” She slid the book across the table to the head where Amity sat, smiling smugly as she did so. Though the other members seemed disappointed, they all seemed to agree with her statement.

“O-oh. Thank you.” Her face was pink with embarrassment as she slid the book into her bag. “Well then… seeing as we have some new material to look over, I guess that concludes today’s meeting. Have a good rest of your day, everybody.” Her tired smile waned as the club room emptied out, eventually leaving only them. Luz packed up her bag slowly, if only in the hopes of getting to talk to her again. As she approached, she knew her plan had worked. 

With her smug grin still glued to her lips, she looked up at Amity.  
“What’s up?” 

“Why are you here,” She droned. “didn’t I- explicitly ask you to stay away from me?”

“You told me not to be a tryhard in abominations, actually. Don’t think you could get rid of me that easily though, love.” Her face turned even more red with the last comment. “Oh, don’t worry about me telling people though- I like Azura. That’s the only reason I came here.” The witch regarded her for a moment without the angry facade; now, just plain curiosity.

“Hm.” Her hand raised slightly, and before she knew what was happening, she had snatched the beanie right off her head.

“Hey-”

“So you are human.” Her cold fingers gently touched the piece of flesh, turning the round edge about, then trailing down to her gauges. “What kind of earring..?” 

“Plugs. I stretched my earlobes. You guys don’t have that here?” She shook her head.

“No.” She pulled her hand back, the other one still clutching her hat. “Will I see you here next week?”

“Yes. Is that not allowed?”

“It will be permitted. Stay with me after I conclude the meeting next week, there’s something I want to show you.”

“Ooh, ominous. I like it. You won’t try to kill me though, right?” She teased.

“No promises.” Amity turned around and began walking to the exit. “See you in Abominations, 'love'.” The door closed, and she was gone, leaving her alone with her half-packed bag.

“Holy shit,” She whispered to herself, clutching her shirt over her heart. It was still beating way faster than she felt like it should have been. 

She felt her ears getting cold under the air conditioner, and suddenly realized- Amity still had her beanie. 

“That little-” She blew air out of her nostrils, trying to collect her thoughts before leaving.

God, this girl was going to drive her crazy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gay panic luz is so fun to write yall have no idea,, i cannot wait until she meets the blight twins :33


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Modern Jesus by Portugal. The Man

Once again, Amity found herself mad for no real reason. 

Maybe it was the aggravatingly slow speech of her history teacher from the other day that she still hadn’t gotten over. Maybe it was her mom trying to convince her to dye her hair again that morning because her roots were growing unruly.

Maybe it was her siblings and their incessant teasing about the beanie she had brought home, or how the dark purple knit smelled just like her, like a musty library with just a hint of something delicate, like roses.

Yes, it was definitely that. 

“So, when’re you going to introduce us to your new girlfriend, Amity?” Edric exclaimed, leaning over one shoulder.

“You know, it’s really rude not to.” Emira leaned over her other shoulder, aimlessly trying to grab her Abominations homework.

“I’m hurt! Fatally wounded!”

“Oh, the desolation, how it takes over-!”

“You guys can stop with the theatrics. We aren’t dating. She isn’t even my friend.”

“Oh, sureeeeee. That completely explains why she let you steal her hat with no repercussions.” He turned, leaning back on her shoulder with maximum dramatic effect. Though she was getting approximately nothing done by staring at her textbook with her siblings bombarding her with comments, some part of her brain told her that if she just kept ignoring them, they would eventually leave her alone.

“She didn’t notice.”

“She didn’t notice you stealing a hat right off her head? Likely story.” Emira stood up, rolled her shoulders. “Let us know when you’re willing to be honest. I’m sure we could help you then- Me and Ed are practically professionals at sneaking people into the house at this point.”   
“Keep it in mind!” They laughed, finally exiting her bedroom.

She really hoped they would get a new hobby. This whole ‘harass Amity’ thing every time they were bored was getting exhausting.

As she turned her attention back to her homework, the words in her book seemed to swim off the page. Each paragraph was repetitive, verbally dull, just like her history teacher.

She snapped it shut impatiently. Though she hated it, she knew why she couldn’t focus- one of the reasons lying stuck between two of her binders inside her backpack. With a huff, she grabbed the book, flipping open the cover.

* * *

Well, turned out Luz’s claim about the Hecate redemption arc had been correct. What she had failed to mention, however, was that they didn’t just become friends.

_ My dearest Hecate, why do you struggle? Join me so that I may help you,  _ Azura exclaimed.  _ I care for you, do you not understand? _ Hecate cut herself from the snare, and turned to face the good witch.

_ I understand fine, ‘dearest’. You know why I can’t stay. _

Though this particular dialogue was before the kiss scene 5 chapters later, it resonated with her stronger. 

Had she accidentally..?

Amity smacked a hand over her mouth. 

She had  _ not _ just accidentally hit on some twat from school via unconsciously mimicking an enemies to lovers arc in her favorite book series.

“Gah! Stupid books!” The witch threw it aside, near where she had tossed her textbook, having no longer felt like staring at the cover longingly. It wasn’t like she wished there was some Azura out there to match her Hecate. Not at all.

Her door slammed open. She flinched, falling sideways onto her arm.

“Amity, stand up. Slouched on the floor is not proper posture for a young woman of your class.” Her dad stood above her, arms crossed in disappointment. Though it took everything in her to not lash out at him in anger, she knew what would happen if she did. She sucked it up and stood, avoiding his eyes.

“I have good news. You remember that Andrew boy I was speaking to you about?” 

“No.”

“The possible suitor. We spoke about this last week, young lady.” His jaw was firm set, and she felt his eyes scan her, dissatisfied. “He’ll be coming over next week on Saturday evening for a banquet dinner with his family. It would behoove you to take my advice and give the boy a chance; he really is kind, you know.” Her fist balled behind her back. Not this suitor bullshit again- how low did one have to be to use their own daughter as a gambling chip for a company partnership?

“Edric and Emira have already failed to charm their options. This rests in your hands. You know I will not accept anything less than perfection, child.”

“Dad. I don’t like men.” She muttered.

“Yes, you do. Now, I suggest finishing your homework soon, dinner is nearly ready.” He turned away, closing the door behind him with a note of finality, and the tears she had been holding back finally began to spill out. Almost every encounter with her father left her feeling like this- positively miserable, especially when her sexuality came into the question. 

She had come out years ago, kind of- if she could consider being immediately shut down afterwards at least an attempt. 

He had said that he didn’t care before, but that wasn’t it. He didn’t care about what she had to tell him, because he always knew that he was right, no matter the subject.

Titan, she could not move out soon enough.

Since she had already taken off all of her makeup before the book club, it made cleanup much easier- she found that if she blotted her face with a towel soaked in cold water, it made her look like she hadn’t just been crying. 

She sniffed quietly, but then froze when a sudden realization came to mind.

Her dad had mentioned that the banquet was next Saturday, the same day of her book club, and, coincidentally, the wailing star… 

The reality of things began to form in her mind, and for once, she found herself a reason to smile.

* * *

Though she loved to ignore the general chatter at school, she couldn’t help but pick up on all of the gossip surrounding the wailing star. It looked like there was a festival planned- a favorable event, meaning nobody would be inside the library after dark.

And that was good news, she supposed. Not that she cared that she would be showing Luz the event alone or anything. It was simply the returning of a favor, and a convenient excuse for her to be out Saturday evening. Since she shared a little bit of her human world with them, Amity found it only appropriate that she show the human a little piece of Boiling Aisles life. Then she could go back to pretending that she didn’t know the girl.

They weren’t even friends, after all.

She clutched her textbook against her chest, finding her seat near the back of the classroom. Considering her lack of usual attentiveness, she didn’t want to put herself up front unless necessary, already finding herself drifting off into some Azura-based daydream she had thought up the previous night.

“Hey. Amity. Can I copy your homework?” Just as she was about to pull the Sword of the Sky, a particularly memorable voice piped in from beside her.    
Of course Luz would choose this seat out of literally all the other open ones. Just her luck- she had probably come by to pester her to death and back.

“No. Do it yourself.”

“Rude.” She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Can I have my beanie back?” 

“I don’t have your beanie.” She lied, taking her notes out of her backpack and laying them out flat. Well, she technically did have it, but she had left it on top of her dresser at home. It wasn’t like she was planning on giving it back any time soon though; it was in her petty nature to withhold it as long as possible despite her doing almost nothing to earn it(she was considering the whole ‘invading her bookclub without consent’ thing as a worthy excuse). 

“Bullshit. You took it last night.” 

“I don’t think I did, actually.”

“What happened to the Amity from yesterday? I thought I had moved up from the CEO of being a problem to minor annoyance.” A hint of sarcasm snaked its way into her voice   
“That,” Amity turned to face the human, unconsciously looking at her round ears again. Forcibly, she pushed away the urge to touch them again. “-happened last night. At school, I’m just a stranger. It’s best if you do the same.”

“What? Why?” She asked incredulously. 

_ Why… _

Amity almost found herself asking the very same question. Why would she ever emotionally block somebody out of her life who seems to have genuine, heartfelt interest in her?

It was likely also due to the fact that she wasn’t ready to have this conversation with herself either.

She could feel the girl’s eyes on the back of her neck, but ignored it in favor of reading over all her answers, trying to distract herself from the fact that she didn’t actually mind her presence, as much as she had tried to convince herself.

So what if she did though? It was better if they both kept their distance; life without any distractions was hard enough as is, and she didn’t want to consider what her parents might do if she brought home a human one day.

"Shh. Strangers, remember." She paused in consideration. "But if you need homework help, I'm always around after school. Just don't come in with it unfinished right before class."

"Ok."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shorter chapter cuz im tired but this one goes out to ma pal kontraklarinette for being a g,, u should check out her lumity fics they r very swag


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Merry-Go-Round of Life by Nuvo Orchestra !! It's the only song I could think of when writing the last scene

Her hand wavered as she dug through her dresser looking for a good outfit for her 'book club' in a few hours. There was really no rational reason why she was nervous, so to speak, but no matter what she did, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

The only probable cause that came to mind was her intentions to never come home that night, and considering that she had only once before vehemently denied her father’s orders, maybe it was a… justified nervousness. A nervousness completely unrelated to the human that she would be spending the night with.

Emira and Edric had also told her that they would cover for her as best they could. Not without a price, of course- her pockets would be hurting for the next few weeks. She really hoped their illusion could do some convincing chatting with this mystery boy since she was never going to do it on her own.

She eventually decided on a burnt orange tank top and some baggy black pants. It was a bit bolder than her usual outfits outside of school, but she felt like it was a worthy occasion, being the first time she confidently flipped the bird at her dad and blatantly defied him, even if he didn’t explicitly know it yet.

Emira stood in her doorway, looking at her outfit judgementally.

“Really? Your first time sneaking out and you choose to wear  _ that _ ? Where’s the flavor? The extravagance?”

“Could you not speak so loud about that-!” She exhaled. “If we want to keep this under wraps, shouldn’t we accomplish it by, you know,  _ keeping it under wraps _ ?”

“Yeah, yeah, little mittens is paranoid, we get it.” 

“I’m being cautious.”

“Fine. Be cautious, but at least have the decency to do it in a better outfit.” She scrunched her nose in disgust. “Wear a cute dress or something. Aren’t you sneaking off to the library to go make out with your not-girlfriend anyway?” Amity choked on air. 

“For Titan’s sake, Emira. I meant it when I said we weren’t even friends. I’m simply returning the favor of lending that book to me so that we won’t owe each other anything after all this is over.”

“And you wonder why you don’t have friends.” Her yellow eyes narrowed. “Real ones, I mean.” 

“Man, I’m so glad I have such a reliable and kind hypewoman of a sister.” A snicker escaped her sister’s lips. 

“Anytime, mittens. You should get going soon if you aren’t going to change, that kid and his family are supposed to be arriving soon and I’d just hate for you to be late to your library date.” She glanced down at her clothes again.

“Is it really that bad..?” Her voice cracked just a little- she found a lot of pride in her sense of style. The color combo had looked fine to her… 

“Nah, I’m just messing with ya. It’s fine.” A faintly fond smile crossed her face. “Baby sister’s first date… I’m so proud. I feel like a true mother.” She wiped a faux tear from her cheek. “Get going, mittens. Mom and dad are going to start wondering why Edric is the only one entertaining pretty soon.” She nodded. 

“Ok. Bye, Emira.” She pried open her window, summoning an abomination to lift her to the ground, and began her brisk walk to the library.

The sky was already turning from blue to vibrant pinks and yellows, painted over the plush clouds. Every sunset like this reawakened some strong feeling of nostalgia in her gut, days she used to spend in her grandfather’s study until dinnertime where he read her endless stories, which were never enough to sedate her boundless curiosity. His study had been the room to inspire her to build her secret library nook, which she chose to also fill with adventure novels, though she would be lying if she pretended there wasn’t also a significant amount of romance as well.

She wondered what had happened to that happy little girl.

The square was quiet, save for the sound of her own soft footsteps. This was probably due to the fact that she had called off the day’s meeting in favor of letting the few remaining members who had not yet read book 5 look over Luz’s copy, though she had conveniently forgotten to tell the human any of that, along with the fact that the library had been closed all day because of the wailing star festival happening downtown.

“Woah, be cool, be cool. You’ve got this.” Amity heard a voice ahead and ducked behind one of the front pillars, then cautiously peeked over. 

She knew it. The human stood around 15 feet away from her, pacing slightly in front of the door.    
“Maybe this is the wrong address… wrong time..?” She looked around nervously, running a hand through her hair, and Amity finally decided to reveal herself, with a simple remark.

“Hey.”

“Oh- Amity! Haha…” She visibly swallowed. “Hi.”

Now that she was out of hiding, she had a more ample opportunity to look over what Luz was wearing- a leather jacket over a maroon turtleneck and black ripped jeans. Though it was far from formal, she recognized it as starkly prominent next to her usual outfits at school. 

“Nice costume, nerd.” Despite her nervous exterior, she steeled at the comment.

“Costume..? That’s bold coming from little miss pink frilly dress and 5 inch platform boots,” Luz exhaled, seemingly dissipating all of the anxiety built up in her shoulders. “Whatever. Do you want to go in or not?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She pulled out the key Emira had lent her, tracing the image against the doors until they clicked open. “After you.”

She had planned the timing meticulously- so that just after their arrival, once the doors were firmly closed behind them, the star passed by the window, flushing the dark room with shallow green light.

"Woah…" Luz wandered over to a bookshelf, running her hand along the dusty ridges and picking a title out. Before Amity had the chance to warn her, she had flipped open the cover, giving way to several dozen colorful birds out from its pages. “Wait, do all of the books do that?” Amity shrugged. 

“More or less.” She did a little victory cheer. 

“Oh hell yeah!” Just like a child loose in a candy factory, the human took off, throwing open random books just to see what would happen. It took only moments for the library to be plunged into a scene of absolute chaos. Extinct dragons flew about gourmet chefs, who were in deep conversation with the romance novel vampires, all while some ballroom music played softly in the background. 

She walked over to the nonfiction section, picking out a gardening book and laying it on the ground. It grew a little field below her, along with several big mushrooms- ideal pillows, in her mind. She sat down, closing her eyes, and let the chaos unfold around her. 

It was all fine until she heard the unmistakable creaking of the book wall that conceald her reading nook.

“Fuck-” Was all that she could manage to mutter under her breath before sprinting over to the Teen Romance Section where the partition was open. Inside, Luz was staring intently at a particular shelf, reaching inside to pull a title out. 

“Oh, hey, Amity! I was wondering where they kept the Good Witch Azura books here…” But she wasn’t holding an Azura book. Before she could run to stop her, the front page was open, and a smaller figure of herself rose up and began to speak. The witch found herself momentarily paralyzed in fear, fixated on how Luz was staring at it.

“Hey again diary… I guess it’s been a while, huh? A lot has happened since I last wrote to you with dad. He’s trying to set me up with a suitor again for his stupid business partnerships, and just completely ignores me every time I say I like girls, and it just makes me so mad! Hello, strangely missing pride flag after schoo-” She had heard enough. Having shaken herself from her trance, she finally snatched her diary back from Luz’s hands.

“I-I’m sorry, Amity-”

“That’s enough!” She barked, tucking the book beneath her arm. Anger seethed through her veins. Who did she think she was, having the audacity to snoop into her private nook and  _ read her diary _ ?

She inhaled deeply through her nostrils, then out, realizing how scary she must have seemed, lashing out so suddenly- not that she cared at all if she was frightening her, but more for the sake of completely evening out their playing field, she decided on calming down a bit. The whole goal of this was to walk away as strangers. She was willing to go to uncomfortable measures to ensure that idea became a reality. 

“That’s… enough.” Amity exhaled. “Just… don’t go through my shit without asking first, ok?” Luz nodded aggressively.

“Of course! I’m really sorry, I honestly didn’t realize-”

“Ah-ah-ah!” She pressed a finger to her lips. “I don’t care. Save your apology for somebody who does.”

“O-ok… fine.” Luz swallowed, turning her head sideways in an aloof manner and leaving the area, giving Amity ample time to put her journal away and lock the nook back up.

She shouldn’t have still felt conflicted over how she was speaking to Luz. She was just a snide asshole of a human, possessing no redeeming traits to pity over, yet the feeling of guilt still crept past her defenses and clawed its bitter path into her heart.

Maybe she had been a little harsh. 

She settled back into her mushroom pile, but this time opted to keep her eyes open in case Luz tried any funny business again. To her relief, however, she also seemed to be winding down, now flipping through a fashion magazine to see how each style looked on her.

“Hey Amity,” The human turned, now wearing some elaborate frilly button-up and high waisted pants. “Care to dance? I’m sure there’s some fancy ballgown in here just screaming your name.”

“With me?” She yawned nonchalantly, giving the human a once-over. “In your dreams.” Luz pulled back in her hand to her chest with a look of mock dejectedness. 

“Hard pass, then.” 

“If it helps you sleep at night.”

“Tch.” Luz scoffed, turning to one of the many characters wandering around the room. The human and began to dance with her, hand in hand, and despite the fact that she clearly couldn’t dance, their motions were hypnotizing and joyful.

“You know, Amity,” She spun around. “You have a really pretty name. Goes well with this funky Boiling Aisles music.” The song began to build to a crescendo. “Someday I should show you my human music. I think you'd enjoy it.” Finally, with a single lengthy chord, the song ended and her dance was over, but it seemed like Luz was still awaiting an answer to what she had said.

And against her better judgment, Amity responded. “That’s probably the best idea you’ve had all night, Noceda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> three cheers for mr blight being a homophobe! shoot him in the foot pls !! :333


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Little Dark Age by MGMT bc I honestly can't find a good song for this but it bops

“This has got to have been the worst idea we’ve had in ages.” Emira whispered through clenched teeth, maneuvering her hands just so, that the Amity illusion would stand normally as Andrew talked to her.

“No shit, Emira. But we’re in a little too deep to turn back now.” He steadied his hands, pausing to listen in. “What is he even saying?” Emira leaned forward, as if it would help her to hear the boy any better. 

“I don’t know, something about how rich he is?” 

“What do we even say in response to that?”

With a flick of her wrist, the illusion nodded. “In my experience, smiling and nodding is the best thing to do. He seems too completely infatuated with himself to care much anyway.” Emira shrugged her braid off her shoulder, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Their father was all the way across the room, engrossed in a conversation with the boy’s dad, but she could still feel his eyes on the back of her neck every time she tried to concentrate.

“Gosh, and I thought I was committed to my self-image. This guy’s a riot in all the wrong ways.”

“Hm. Poor Amity. Glad that she’s at least having fun right now- probably.”

“Probably.” They settled into a comfortable silence, working the illusion around the ballroom until the stuffy dinner party came to an end.

Once upstairs, the twins dissolved the illusion in their room, breathing a sigh of relief.  
“Titan, I’m exhausted…”

“Holding a complex illusion spell for several hours will do that.” Emira jumped at the voice. _Their father._

The twins turned around slowly to face the figure looming in their doorway. His face was held tight in anger. Their mother stood behind him, with a similarly angered look, though she was always less vocal about it than Alador. 

“You’re lucky that boy is an idiot. I, fortunately, am not.” He pulled on the lace cuff of his sleeve, rolling his shoulders back into an even more imposing posture. “Now, where exactly is Amity?” Edric, in a desperate attempt to save their sorry asses, responded.

“She’s uh, asleep! In her room, very tired, haha…” He visibly shrunk away when all their father did was raise an eyebrow. 

“Is that so?” His arm shot out in the direction of her room, blasting the door open to reveal her painfully empty bed and open window. “Curious.” Emira elbowed her brother in the side, whispering at him through clenched teeth.

“Are you trying to get us in even more trouble?”

“It was worth a shot!” he whispered back with equal ferocity.

“Silence!” He roared. “Where is Amity?”

“She didn’t tell us!”

“We were only covering for her because we didn’t want to mess up dinner!” Both were lies, but at least they seemed more believable than the whole ‘sleeping in her room’ shenanigan.

Their mom stroked his arm as if to calm him. It hardly did anything, but at least he wasn’t yelling the next time he spoke.

“Well then,” He brushed off the front of his suit coat. “Fine. Inform her that once she returns home there will be consequences. _Severe_ consequences.” Their father slammed the door shut with an air of finality, leaving the two of them alone in their room again. 

“Oh. Shit.” She pressed her hand against her chest in an attempt to moderate her racing heartbeat. 

“Haah…” Edric mocked the motion. “Forgot how scary dad was for a minute?”  
“Guess I did. Rookie mistake.”

“How many chores are we gonna dump on her for this?”

“At _least_ a month’s worth of laundry. Titan.” As her heart rate finally dropped back to normal, she began busying herself with getting ready for bed, though no amount of scrubbing her face of makeup or washing her hair could erase her father’s prominent threat from her mind. 

Once she came back into their shared bedroom, she saw Edric lying face-up on his bed but definitely not asleep. She fell back onto her own bed on the other side of the room.

“Hey, Edric.”

“Hey, Emira.”

“We’re 18 now.”

“So?”

“We can move out. I’ve been draining funds from dad’s account just for this. I’m getting a job at that coffee shop near Hexside so that it can be sustainable.” He shifted in his bed to look at her.

“Wait, really?” He blinked. “I’m shocked he hasn’t noticed yet.”

“We’re illusionists, Ed. It wasn’t that hard.”

“I’m interested, I won’t lie… what about Amity though? As much as I’d love to get out of this detention pit of a house as soon as possible, that means we’d be leaving her behind.”

“Actually, I know it sounds crazy, but… what if we brought her with us?”

“That’s legal?” She sighed, exasperated. 

“I don’t _know_? But I wouldn’t exactly consider our parents’ methods of parenting law-abiding to any extent either! Isn’t marital endowment like, flagrantly illegal?”

“You have a point there.” Edric grabbed his scroll. “I’ll start researching complexes in town.”

“I guess that puts the whole ‘actually talking to Amity about it’ thing on my shoulders, huh.” She held her hands up against the white ceiling, imagining living somewhere where she could finally breathe, maybe live out her dream of having her own bedroom so she could decorate it all just how she wanted.

“It does indeed.” He clicked his tongue, scrolling a bit farther. “I think I found a winner, sis.”

* * *

She was getting too attached, and she knew it. Even if she denied the presence of any lingering feelings to the moon and back, she couldn’t deny anything about the reality of the leather jacket resting on her shoulders, tallying up to two separate articles of clothing she now had belonging to the human- albeit, this one wasn’t stolen.

She was so stupid. Now that Amity had her coat, _she_ was going to freeze on her walk home to… wherever it was that she lived. That weird house that the Owl Lady owned. It was definitely a longer walk there than it was to her house, resting on the very edge of Bonesburough past the forest.

Not that she cared. She didn’t. It was just a really dumb thing to give some random girl your jacket when it’s cold outside and said girl literally hasn’t done anything to earn anything but angered comments. 

Now that she really thought about it, this would have to qualify as the nicest thing Amity had ever done for the human, which hardly qualified as anything in her head. She had never apologized for any of her rude comments, and her apology for the whole ‘falling down the stairs’ thing was lackluster at best, even if it was totally Luz’s fault in the first place.

All of that, especially contrasted with the human’s actions, drew a stark line of confusion in her mind, but it didn’t change the facts; those facts being Luz’s unfaltering kindness(albeit with a fair amount of sarcasm) and her torso still snuggled up in a leather jacket that didn’t belong to her.

She kicked a pebble in frustration. It bounced off the imperfections in the pavement, eventually landing into the grass of her front lawn.

_“I don’t want your stupid jacket, Luz. Goodnight.” A hand wrapped around her wrist from behind, preventing her from leaving. She was visibly shivering, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t need some coat for a 10-minute walk._

_“You’re cold. I’d feel terrible if I made you go home shivering after you let me see all of this incredible magic.” She released her hand after Amity refused to face her, but after a moment of rustling, a warm article of clothing was draped over her shoulders._

_It was heavy, and much too large for her._

_She turned to throw it back at the human, but she was already halfway across the courtyard, making a mad dash towards the forest. Even with that, she was waving._

_“Bye Amity! See you on Monday!”_

_She already knew she wouldn’t be able to catch up with her if she tried._

Her face turned red upon recalling the events of the evening- whether it was red with frustration or embarrassment, she wasn’t sure. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer either.

No, scratch that, she didn’t. She was a Blight- This little _partnership_ with Luz was a liability. The sooner she could forget she felt anything in the first place and cut her ties, the better. 

The lights in the front room were still on. That in itself was an awful sign. As quietly as possible, she rose an abomination up to deposit her inside her windowsill.

The lights in here were off. She could have sworn they were on when she left… 

It was probably just Emira. She reached out and flipped on the lights, jolting when suddenly she was face to face with a precisely tailored suit coat. Trembling slightly, she looked up to face her father. 

“Have a fun time out, Amity?”

“Titan, smite me already.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it took an ungodly amount of self-restraint to not make amity just say 'god fucking damn it' at the end of this chapter adsfghjklf


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Hot Faced by Margaux Bouchegnies(tho it also fits really well w the last part of ch 7 tehe)  
> TW: This chapter contains emotional abuse and referenced physical abuse

In hindsight, Amity should have seen it coming. Her father never was one to let things slide.

She brushed foundation over the growing bruise under her eye, packing it on until she couldn’t tell it was there in the first place.

_ “Amity Blight!” His voice rose in volume, nostrils flared in anger. “Do not talk back to me!” _

She almost flinched. The voice in her head was too close to the real thing, she could almost feel the back of his ring-adorned hand crossing her face again. Skin and metal against skin had been a more painful combination than she remembered.

The bathroom door creaked open just as she finished her eyeliner. 

“Hey…” Emira spoke lightly. She suspected it was because of everything that had happened the previous night- Alador had certainly been yelling loud enough for their neighbors to hear him all the way down the road, let alone when the twins were just down the hall. 

“Hey, Em.”

“Are you..?”

“I’m fine.” It seemed like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself. 

“Ok…” Em’s eyes darted to the color corrector on the counter. The pieces must have finally clicked in her head. “Amity… you know you can always talk to me, right?” Her hand almost faltered as she raised her mascara wand to her face, but she managed to move on just soon enough that it didn’t seem like Emira’s statement had shocked her. 

“Mhm.” It was a little out of character for her to be putting on makeup on a Sunday morning, possibly the thing prompting Emira’s persistence, but after her bland and clearly uninterested response, Emira closed the door with a sigh.

~

She was at least allowed to keep her scroll through the grounding. Being a vampire all Sunday afternoon at least wasn’t too bad if she could mess around on Penstagram.

After staring at her explore page for a moment, she decided now was as good a time as any to contribute to her new account. 

She angled the camera to take a selfie from just underneath her chin with her lips curled into a funny smile with her tongue stuck out. The purple of her bruise shone through the foundation just enough to be notable. 

Now, for a caption… 

_ Lol when u sneak out of shitty family dinner _

Hm.

_ Matching bruises with the stupid human <333 _

Well, she supposed it didn’t matter anyways. She was the only person who would ever see the account. After the incident with her diary in the library, she had opted to begin storing her experiences in a less… accessible place. A private social media account where she could just post photos and vent in the captions was her best solution. 

She posted the photo, then snapped her scroll shut after seeing a notification from Boscha. 

That girl was exhausting to deal with. She could wait to answer until later.

“Amity, dear, can I come in?” Her mother’s muffled voice called out front the other side of her door. 

She felt herself go rigid. Dealing with her father’s incessant anger was one thing- talking to Odalia was something else completely.

Odalia didn’t wait for Amity’s response, gracefully inviting herself in with just a hint of a smile on her lips, as always. The privacy of her children might as well have been an object of fiction with the carelessness she displayed while essentially destroying it on a daily basis. 

“Have a seat, dear. It’s been too long since you let me style your hair.” 

Fighting her was pointless. Amity took a seat in front of her vanity with a sigh, trying not to think of the reason Odalia had come into her room. Odalia was infamous for not interacting with any of her children unless she wanted something.

A clawed hand began combing through her unruly curls.

“School going well, hmm?”

“Yes.”

“Good, good.” She hummed, working her way up from her frizzy tips. Every time her nails scraped against her scalp she felt a shudder run down her spine. “You did hear of this… human attending Hexside, yes?” 

Amity’s heart dropped.

_ Why would she be asking about Luz? _

“Obviously. It’s all anybody is ever talking about right now.” It wasn’t like she had been really spending time with the human outside of classes- she had nothing to be nervous about, but her hand still had a slight tremor when she moved it to rest on her thigh.

“Hm. Well, I was on a call with Boscha’s mother last night. She said that her daughter saw you and that human- together, nonetheless.”    
“I-” Odalia yanked a section of her hair back with particular force. She shut her mouth.

“Dear, you know we Blights cannot associate with anybody but the best… I thought you got the message with Willow, but clearly, I was wrong.” She grabbed a brush from her vanity and began to comb sections flat. “As your mother, you know I’m only doing what’s best for your future. Associating with an outlawed human could result in you losing your chance to be in the Emperor's Coven, even with my prominent role in the castle.”

“Mom- what if I don’t want-”

Odalia pulled the ponytail she had formed in her hand even tighter, scowling as Amity tried to speak.

“Now, Amity. You know anything else would be ridiculed. You must learn to uphold the responsibilities and rank that comes with your family name. I just know you’ll be the perfect successor once that finally clicks in your head.” With the final insertion of a pin, Odalia released the sides of her face and stepped away. 

A perfect bun sat atop her head, curled into a cylinder just as her mother’s did.

Staring in the mirror, she hated everything that she saw. She didn’t want to become the Emperor’s advisor. She didn’t want to grow up and fight her way into the most prestigious of covens just to end up an echo of who her mother had been.. Everything about what she saw made her feel like hurling, and soon the visual resemblances were too much to bear. 

Tears began falling before she knew it. She tried her best to obscure her face behind her hands, but she knew that Odalia had seen them. Her mother didn’t seem sad at all though- just disappointed.    
“Cheer up, Amity. A Blight must be able to withstand pressure, bend without breaking.” She hefted her fist into the air in front of her, eerily similar to the pose Lilith struck on her old Emperor’s Coven poster, but with a far more sinister expression. “Being the Emperor’s advisor is no easy task. But I know that as my daughter, you must have inherited some of my resilience. Use it.” She crossed to the other side of the room and rested her hand on the doorknob.    
“I expect there to be no ties between you and that horrid… thing by Monday. Keep that in mind.”

With that final scathing comment, she left Amity alone to mull over her motivations even more than she already wanted to. Amity was forced farther and farther back into her own mind until the thoughts were overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. She collapsed on her bed, hoping to sleep away her worries along with the rest of this terrible Sunday.

~

She had forgotten how much being grounded had sucked royal ass.

Amity had known that being let off the hook with just a slap on the wrist would have been too good to be true, but it didn’t stop her from feeling just a little bit shittier than usual knowing that she couldn’t hold Azura Book Club for a month.

“So anyways- this half a witch has the  _ audacity _ to block my way into photography class. Like, move, I wanna see the cute ghosts! Ugh.” Boscha lamented, picking at the hardly edible-looking cafeteria food on her tray with a look of disgust. 

If any of the girls around her had noticed Amity’s bad mood, they hadn’t said anything. Bo and Cat were engrossed in a conversation about the upcoming auditions for Sleeping Beastie, which she found mildly interesting despite the fact that she was just eavesdropping, and Boscha was too caught up to her own angry stewing to pay much attention to her friend.

Suddenly, conversation paused as Skara decided to triumphantly stand up on the bench. Her arms were loaded with little pink rolls of paper, and Amity found herself wondering dismissively what they could be for.

“Everybody! Listen up!” Once she was satisfied everybody was paying attention to her, she sat back down, speaking in a more hushed tone. “My birthday party is this weekend! And you girls are all invited!” Her happiness was almost contagious enough to make Amity smile, but as soon as she realized that her grounding was still in effect, the bitter taste of anger filled her mouth again. Even if she didn’t care to interact with any of the girls there outside of school, Amity knew she would be the only one at the table who wouldn’t be there. 

Maybe her irrational jealousy was an inherited trait from her mother too.

“Aaaaaand-” Skara leaned over the table, placing the invite in front of her, “I’m going to invite the rest of the school! Later, though. I want to get the maximum dramatic effect.”

“What?” Boscha dropped her fork. “Why would you ever do that? Inviting all of these greasy little witchlings under us is kind of trashy.”

“Boschaaaa!” Skara groaned. “I’m turning 16! I need to have at least one cool, totally reckless house party before next year, and I only turn 16 once!”    
“You only turn every age once, Skara.” The potions witch looked over the invitation. “But if it makes you happy… whatever, I guess.”

“You can sleep over if you want,” Skara bribed.

“Ok, fine! I’ll be there.” She looked away, cheeks flustered.

Amity opted to pretend like she didn’t know exactly what was going on and slipped the invite into her backpack, even if she knew that she wouldn’t be able to go. Since it was Skara, she guessed there was a chance her parents would let her go just because their parents are friends, but on the other hand she’d never been grounded like this before. 

Only time would tell, she mused. In the meantime, there were other things to think about- like the amount of explaining Boscha was going to have to do regarding the conversation she had endured with her mom.

She wouldn’t be able to confront her yet, but after school it was anybody’s game.

~

Amity absentmindedly picked at the nailpolish on her thumb. She knew Boscha would be out of class soon, but she was getting sick of waiting

Ah, speak of the devil.    
“Boscha!” The witch froze in her tracks among the moving crowd of students moving around her, but tentatively walked out towards her when she saw who it was.

“Amity.” Boscha regarded her coldly. “What do you want? I’m a little busy.” Even if her voice was flat, the obvious way she shifted her weight to her other foot and refused to meet Amity’s eyes clearly expressed how nervous she was.

“Why did you follow me to the library last Saturday?” Her eyes widened ever so slightly.

“I didn’t follow you anywhere.”

“Your mother could beg to differ.”

“I-” She stared at her shoes, swallowing dryly. “I didn’t follow you- I just… happened to be in the area. Big deal.” 

“Bullshit. Nobody was in the square because there was a festival downtown. I would have seen you if you were just ‘hanging out’ in the area.” By then, the schoolyard had cleared, save for a few scattered groups of seniors, and Boscha looked like she was about to start sweating under her unfaltering gaze. “Why were you really there?”

Her shoulders deflated.    
“Fine. I followed you there after I heard you two were meeting up-”

“I didn’t tell anybody.”

“-fine, after I read in the conversation between you and that human on your scroll over your shoulder at lunch, because I… didn’t want you to get hurt.” 

Amity blinked. “Get… hurt? By a human that can hardly do magic on paper?” 

Boscha scowled, crossing her arms in a defensive motion. “I… don’t know! Humans are weird, she could have brought a weapon or something!” The moment of intense anxiety had passed, to be replaced with a facade of annoyance as the witch turned away from her. “Whatever. I need to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"Wait-" But asking was futile. Boscha ran to the curb, where her dad's chariot was waiting. She spared her an indecipherable sideways look before sighing and closing the door with a note of finality. 

"Oof… what's up with her?"

"Amity, you didn't tell us you had fans! Or stalkers, for that matter." Her siblings closed in on her from either side, each taking up a shoulder in their step. 

“Did you guys… see all of that?” 

“Wasn’t too long of an encounter, Mittens.” Ed reminded her.

“That’s a yes, if it wasn’t clear. Gotta make sure that our baby sister is staying out of trouble.”

Amity scrunched her nose, pulling her books flush against her chest as they continued their stroll back home. “And why are you two all of a sudden so interested in me staying out of trouble?”

“Well… we have a surprise for you...” Her brother taunted. 

Emira took out her invitation to Skara’s party and waved it in front of her face. “Mom and Dad are out on a business trip this weekend.”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

“And you guys..?” 

Em finished her sentence for her. “-Would never snitch on you!” She placed her hand over her heart in mock thoughtfulness. “You need to get out more. It doesn’t take a genius to know that somebody that you’d actually make time for outside of school must be somebody pretty special, and I wanna help my baby sis out any way that I can.”

“So, we’ll be your official chaperones to the party,” Ed declared. “Not in a weird way, but, you know.”

“Ugh, Em, I already told you. We’re just friends. That’s it.” As soon as Amity realized her mistake, she felt like wringing Emira’s neck for laughing so hard. “Shit, I meant acquaintances, I mean- classmates. We’re just… classmates. Em, stop laughing at me! It was a slip of the tongue!” 

_ Friends… _ the word tasted foreign in her mouth. When had she last called somebody her friend?

As much as her brain clashed with the idea, she couldn’t say that she hated it. Of all of the people she had ever thought of like that, accidentally or not, Luz stuck out as the most tolerable, and, dare she say, the most  _ minimally _ likable? There wasn’t much competition for the title (cough, Boscha, cough) but to be fair, it was definitely something.

She had only had one ‘friend’ quite like the human before. Things hadn’t ended… ideally, she could say, but now that Amity was older, she might have more power over influencing how these things unfold outside of the restricted social spheres she had been forced into.

Maybe was a probability that she could work with.

Emira nodded skeptically, bopping her nose playfully with the invite.   
“Mhm. Sure. We  _ alllll _ believe you.” Every moment, the distant face of Blight manor grew closer and closer, and the conversation died out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow that odalia bit was an amity kinnie moment WHOOOOO but anyways,, check out my friend Kontra's ao3 page!!  
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/kontraklarinette/pseuds/kontraklarinette  
> She beta'd this chapter and has been just SO helpful overall and her fic Rectification isn't getting enough recognition so go read it!! now!! U have at least 2 days until I post the next chapter


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is Evacuate the Dancefloor by Cascada/Just Dance by Lady Gaga bc I could not think of a more fitting pop song but am also very indecisive  
> fun fact: this was actually the first part of BIC that i ever wrote! its ofc heavily edited but, you know, same idea

Luz stuck her plastic fork into the green mush on her lunch tray. After a week of being completely ignored by somebody she thought was her friend, she was understandably not in the best of moods. To top it off, her classes were entering some of the dullest periods of study in both Abominations and Oracle. She was honestly surprised that she hadn’t accidentally slipped and fallen asleep with the teachers droning on about the boring stuff that they had already been forced to read for homework for hours on end. Her music probably did that though- she could hardly describe Gojira and Rage Against The Machine as ‘relaxing tunes to snooze to in class’.

But, like a phoenix from the ashes, something notable finally happened that aroused her from her stupor of exhaustion in the form of little pink slips of paper being distributed around the cafeteria. Somebody reached around her, placing the note right in front of her lunch. It read:

_ Skara’s Sinister 16 _

_ 846 Flintlock Ave. _

_ This Saturday, 7pm _

Most of the other kids at the table were holding similar notes, and soon the cafeteria was abuzz with chatter. 

“Oh, a birthday party?” 

Gus nodded excitedly, folding up his invite. “Yeah! This is crazy! Skara  _ never _ lets people like us attend. This is gonna be such a blast!” He grinned, punching the air with his fist, then yanking it back down to signify a true victory (Luz had taught him that). Willow looked equally excited, albeit also fairly nervous.

“You okay, Willow?”

“Mhm. I just- I don’t know if this kind of party is exactly my scene. I’m well-liked here, in this group, but at a party full of popular kids and probably a lot of seniors? I think… maybe it’d be better if I just stayed home.”

“Noooooo! Who’s going to be my third party buddy then? I can’t go without a few friends. Mama warned me about that.” 

Willow looked at the mashed potatoes on her plate, squishing them around a little. 

“Ok. I’ll go. But we aren’t going to stay for too long, ok?” 

Luz grinned. “I’ll pick you up at 6:30. That sound good, Gus?” He nodded, wolfing down the remainder of his fried vegetables.

* * *

It was 6, and Luz suddenly realized that she probably shouldn’t be showing up to this rich girl’s birthday party in sweaty school clothes. She wasn’t exactly someone who owned a lot of formal outfits, but after a minute of rifling through her suitcase, she found a few articles that would do the trick. Some light washed denim shorts, holey black tights, a black Green Day t-shirt and an oversized flannel seemed to be her most put-together outfit at the moment. She pondered her look in the mirror, and eventually decided on adding a belt and some chains(A motto she loved to follow was ‘the more noise the outfit makes, the better’).

“Hey Eda! Should I wear my Demonias or Docs?” The witch squinted at her, pursing her lips at the question. “Oh, wait, sorry, look. This… or this?” She held up each pair, and Eda lazily pointed a claw towards the Demonias. 

“Looks like they’ll make you taller too.”

“Yeah, it’s one of the reasons I love them so much.” Eda looked her up and down.

“Not like you need the added height. Anyways, you’re gonna be late, kid. Now, remember…” She sat forward with a yawn. “Don’t do anything I’d disapprove of, and make sure to keep Owlbert somewhere safe. He’s a delicate little man.” The palisman scoffed(?) at her remark as Eda handed Luz the staff. “And make sure to have fun.” 

“I will!” And with that, Luz closed the door behind her and took off on Owlbert, soaring into the chilly night air. 

~

15 minutes later, they were pulling up to the front curb of Skara’s house. Willow has picked out a soft green sundress and matching flats, while Gus had gone all out with a fitted navy suit. Something told her this was probably his first experience with house parties- not that she was much different. This was, what, her third time hardly qualifying for the invite list of a party? 

Compared to any of those parties back in the human realm, however, Skara’s easily topped all of them before she even entered her massive mansion.   
“You guys ready for this?” Willow swallowed, sweat already beading on her forehead.    
“Heck yeah!” The hardly containable ball of energy that was Gus shot ahead of them, running to the door and knocking. 

She was glad she had flown in with Owlbert- the streets were packed with carriages, and it seemed like the party was in full swing. She could feel the steady beat of shitty pop under her feet before she even stepped foot on the lawn.   
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” 

“We’ve got this.” 

A tall girl with choppy pink hair and similarly pink skin answered the door, looking them up and down for only a moment before scratching something off the clipboard in her hand and letting them inside. 

Boiling Aisles culture might have been foreign to her, but the culture of house parties certainly wasn’t (whether or not her knowledge had come from comedy skits and fanfiction was irrelevant), and she knew a sea of drunk toddlers when she saw one.    
Willow clung to her hand tightly. The entire place was hot from all the tightly packed bodies and reeked of alcohol. Not cheap stuff though- when she finished forging her way through the living room, the rhythm of another odd song ringing in her head, she came upon the kitchen, and subsequently a dozen or so scattered bottles of Bonesburough equivalent rich people grain alcohol, based on the intricate labels. Oh yeah, and the fact that they were in a fucking mansion. This was probably some small fragment of Skara’s parents collection.   
“Oh hell yeah.” Luz snatched a cup off the counter and filled it about halfway, then added in some red juice from an unlabeled bottle. Eh, the chances of it being poison weren’t too high, and it smelled fine. Willow watched in awe as she downed half of the thing in a minute.

“Oh, don’t worry. Owlbert’s our designated driver.” She stashed the palisman inside a pantry nearby.

“I- I don’t think this is legal.”

“Pfft, what part of ‘high school house party’ screams legal to you? The whole point is to kind of… you know… do dumb shit you’ll probably regret by tomorrow. It’s fun! And the legal age of drinking is 16 in… Italy? I think?” She still seemed skeptical. “Hey, if you don’t wanna drink, that’s fine. Do what you’re comfortable with.” She had conveniently forgotten to mention that her recklessness was a direct product of the fact that she had never touched a drop of alcohol before in her life, but who else was there to judge her beside herself? Her mama had taught her the basics, even if she strongly discouraged partying; know your limits, and never go to a party alone. 

Well, she knew she was following at least one of those rules.   
She poured herself a little bit more juice to mask the pungent scent of alcohol. It was a lot grosser than she’d envisioned it tasting, and the awful, almost chemical-like taste it left in her mouth stuck around even when she tried to wash it down with juice.

“I’m gonna go and try to socialize a bit. Wanna come with?” 

“I think I’m ok. I’m going to go look for Gus.” 

“Alright. Just shoot me a text if you need me.” The human waltzed out of the kitchen, already feeling her head beginning to buzz faintly, and made her way to a couch on one side of the living room. 

She didn’t really have any intention to socialize. Luz far preferred people watching over talking sometimes, and now observing the clashing masses dance underneath the flashing multicolored lights was enough for her. 

“Hey.” 

She swallowed, looking to see where the voice had come from. 

It was too dark to see her defined form, but she recognized Amity’s voice right off the bat. 

“Hey.” 

“Having fun?”

“I guess you could say that.” She took another sip from her cup. Amity watched her do it. What could she want? She doubted Amity was actually coming by to check up on Skara's party guests out of the kindness of her heart, especially Luz out of literally anybody else considering the massive cold shoulder she had been giving her at school.

“You aren’t drunk, right?”

“Still competent.”

“Good. I need a partner for this stupid drinking game. Boscha won't stop bitching at me about it.” She didn’t realize the reality of Amity’s words or the lack of input she had on the situation until it was too late and she was being dragged out to the back porch by force. 

“Took you long enough, Blight.” 

“Enough small talk. Let’s start.” She finally came to a stop, leaning onto the edge of the table for support as she readjusted to the cold. A table that looked like some bougie version of a ping pong board with several dozen cups organized on either side supported her arm as she stood back up regularly. Her vision swayed. God, maybe she shouldn’t have filled half of her cup with that stuff. 

Opposite to her and Amity were Skara and Boscha, whom she knew by name only through gossip about the things they had done. Actually, Skara was a pretty tolerable person, kind, even, if you were lucky, but the things Boscha had done- oh, it hurt just thinking about it. Rest in peace, Kevin who was fed headfirst into his own locker.   
Thankfully, this modified beer pong thing wasn’t a contact sport, and she had read about how to play to some extent. 

Amity pressed a ping pong ball into her hand and leaned into her ear. 

“Don’t fuck this up. I hate how this stuff tastes.” Luz swallowed, trying to steel her nerves and now jittery throwing hand. 

She tossed the ball in sync with Amity’s. They both plunged into one of the cups.

“Score!” The witch seemed unimpressed, but she didn’t let it hinder her happiness. The two girls across from them scrunched up their noses in disgust before trying to drink the liquid as quick as possible. They made the next throws- Boscha missed, but Skara’s ball landed on her side, so she removed the ball and drank. 

Whatever this drink was didn’t actually seem to have much of anything in it, so as the game came to a close, Luz felt only slightly more lightheaded than before despite probably losing the hardest out of the group. Once the game came to a close, she stumbled over to the porch, finding purchase for her numbed fingers on the polished wooden railing.

Most of the other kids had gone back inside- now it was only her and Amity, who had opted to also stay outside for some reason.

The motive became clear as the witch pulled what looked like a green cigarette out of her pocket, lighting it with her finger and sticking it between her teeth. Luz made her way over to sit beside her.

“Do you hate me?” The question had been biting at her for a while, but in a moment of drunken clarity came out so easily with her mind feeling as light as a cloud. 

Amity took a second to answer, taking a long drag from the rig and blowing the smoke out of her gently parted lips. It must have been some weird plant specific to the Boiling Aisles- the smoke smelled almost exactly like burning sage.

“No.”

“You don’t like me though.” 

“Who said that?” 

“Amity, why did you bring me out here?” This time, she didn’t respond, simply blowing more smoke and staring off into the distance, unfocused. A frigid breeze swept through, seemingly cutting through all of her layers.

Her mind was made up, decided partially on logic that didn’t make sense, and mostly of a culmination of the feeling that had been stirring in her gut for weeks, the way that she wanted to see Amity smile again after seeing it just once and getting addicted to the way it made her feel. Almost mechanically, she stood up and leaned over the witch, faces mere inches apart. 

She grabbed the cigarette from between her teeth and snubbed it out on the gutter pipe beside her face. A pair of hands found her hips, another found her face, two lonely pairs of lips finally finding purchase on each other. Their movements were completely uncoordinated and erratic, but it somehow worked. A fervent push met no resistance, and suddenly the air didn't feel as sharp anymore because all she could feel was the feverish heat of her body and the one she was pressed up against.

Amity tasted like cigarettes and alcohol, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. The flavor was almost intoxicating.

Cold fingertips press into her back, followed by the painful pinch of her sharp acrylics digging into the flesh. Her knee buckled and found solace on one side of the witch's body, clattering against the wooden boards.

Amity pulled away, breathless. Her eyes were wild, black lipstick smeared.

"Oh…" She glanced up from her legs to Luz's face. "Oh Titan…" She stood up, and for the second time that night, Amity dragged her away. Soon they were in the kitchen again. She poured them both a concerning amount of alcohol and shoved one of the cups into her hands. "Drink."

"This will definitely kill me if I finish it."

"Good." Amity stared down at the clear liquid and drank a bit, her face contorting at the flavor. "By tomorrow I want to forget this entire party ever happened." 

“Ouch. Not a huge Luz Noceda fan?” 

“No, I’m not. That’s the whole reason I’m doing this.” She laughed at the comment, even if through her intoxication-induced haze it stung more than it should have. 

“I… damn, Amity. You’d really say that to the poor human you just swept off her feet?” Luz sipped the bitter liquid again. She felt like she was about to pass out. “I would kiss you again if you let me.” 

Amity’s eyes widened, and she lifted the cup to her lips again, swallowing a few painful gulps.

"Titan, I hope this does kill me." Luz leaned against the counter, watching the room begin to spin, when suddenly the door burst open. It was a very sober and very concerned looking Willow, who took a tentative step back when she crossed the threshold.

"Sorry, um… Luz, you weren’t answering your scroll, but, uh, am I… interrupting something?" She looked about apprehensively.

"Of course not." Amity scoffed. "What makes you think that?" 

"Well, um, Luz, your lipstick is really smeared… you also didn't come to this party… wearing lipstick…" Willow trailed off, staring at her shoes.

"Oh…" Luz hurriedly tried to wipe the makeup off her face. "I swear, this isn't what it looks like-"

"Luz, I really don't care. I just wanna go home."

"Oh- yeah, sure, let's go." Luz swallowed hard, grabbing Owlbert from where she had hidden him in the pantry. She stole one last look at the witch behind her, but she seemed too lost in her cup to notice. 

They met up with Gus outside and took off. 

“Good thing we got going,” Willow shouted at her. “They were about to perform the gathering sacrifice. Those are always hard to watch.”    
“Wait, ‘gathering sacrifice’?” She shouted back. God, maybe she wasn’t as well versed in boiling aisles culture as she thought- in any case, maybe it was for the best that they were going to be very, very far away from Skara’s house by the time this sacrifice was going to occur.

She sighed, trying her best to keep her vision from spinning as she flew through the air.

Luz didn’t think she could have fucked that one up more if she tried. Actually, she didn’t scuff Owlbert, but if she thought about it any harder, oh, she was sure things could get worse.

* * *

She was slurring her words, scarcely able to stand up despite being propped up by both of her siblings. 

“You’re a fucking idiot, you know that, right?” Emira seethed into her ear.

“You’re lucky mom and dad are out right now, or we’d be goners.” Edric muttered, hefting her armpit under his arm as he glanced around nervously.

They entered the foyer. It was dark, but the second the doors were open she knew she had screwed up royally when the shocking scent of her mother’s perfume hit her nostrils.

The lights flickered on, and they came face to face with none other than Odalia and Alador Blight. 

“I- I thought you two were on a business trip-” Emira stammered, her eyes going wide with fear.

“MMMHM! Yeahhh, mhm, tell em, Emiraaa.” It was a very dead giveaway to the reality that Amity was, in fact, drunk off her fucking rocker, but she couldn’t have known better. Her mind buzzed peacefully, bobbing to some tune she couldn’t place playing in her head.

“Young woman! Care to explain yourself?” Alador snapped.

“Explain… what..?” She blinked slowly, and her mom scoffed in indignation and disgust.

“You are very clearly intoxicated, and grounded from leaving these premises!”

“Sorry, I was… ooh, yeah, I was uhh, making out with girls. Girls, mmm… girls are really pretty. Did I ever tell you that? And boobs. Those are also nice. You should try it, s’ a lot of fun… aha…” She swayed again, leaning hard on Emira. There was more shouting, a stern hand on her shoulder. She couldn’t make any of their words out, instead favoring the fuzzy warm feeling in her chest. 

Her vision flickered, went fuzzy, bright, and then, finally, black. 

* * *

When she finally woke back up, she was upstairs in her room. Even if she was going to get extremely grounded the next day, she was grateful that they had at least granted her one last restful night, that was only restful because she was fairly sure the alcohol was still working it’s way through her system. In hindsight, she probably should have known drinking that much mild poison was a terrible idea.

Amity shifted to her side to stare out her window. The moon and stars were especially luminescent without the usual fog cover, popping against the canopy of night. 

“Hmm…” She extended her arm in front of her. It must have only been an hour or so since she knocked herself out- her mind flashed back to the party, the regrettable actions she had tried to force herself to forget. 

That human was so beautiful. Allowing herself a final glimpse back, she recalled her warmth, her hands that were just hardly larger than her own, that gaze that made her feel like she was melting. 

And they had  _ kissed _ . They had kissed!

“Oh, shit…” She laughed to herself, rolling onto her back. 

Life was so funny sometimes. Of course fate would have her forget her first kiss. 

Her parents probably wouldn’t ever let her leave the house again after that grand entrance she had made earlier. The weight of reality had always succeeded in crushing any budding hope she might have been harboring. 

_ I expect there to be no ties between you and that horrid… thing by Monday. _

_ Edric and Emira have already failed to charm their options. This rests in your hands. You know I will not accept anything less than perfection, child. _

This relationship- any relationship with the human; it was doomed from the start. There were too many odds stacked against them. Even being Luz’s friend was risking her safety in the Boiling Aisles with the way her mother was. 

She swallowed hard.

“Oh… shit…” She laughed again, but it was devoid of joy, of that childlike wonder that came with first love. When she rolled back over, she let the laughs morph into choked sobs.

She had always hated crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! ik ive been really packing on angst but its getting more lighthearted soon <33 fluff to come !!  
> Big smooch to kontra for beta reading this for me, check out her fic rectification here : https://archiveofourown.org/works/26367832/chapters/64222813  
> as always, leave a comment to save a writer's life!! they really help motivate me to write so if you'd like to see more content soon, consider commenting!! kiss kiss


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: okiii, just put out 2 big chapters in 2 days, time to take a couple of weeks of hiatus for sleep and mental health-  
> *28 new comments*  
> *485 kudos*  
> Me: 0_0  
> anyways... song for this chapter is Oh No! By MARINA

Amity had thought she had experienced horrible pain before, like when she was 9 and looked directly into the eclipse during a rainstorm, or when she had scraped her knees and then promptly fallen into the acid river downtown.

All of that was nothing compared to the splitting headache consuming her entire being in that moment. 

As soon as she felt her stomach lurch, she fumbled out of her bed, scarcely making it down the hall to the bathroom before throwing herself over the edge of the toilet and hurling.

It must have been years since she last threw up. 

_ What the hell happened last night? _

Though she was still off balance from just waking up, she was able to claw herself up to the sink to rinse the putrid acidic flavor out of her mouth.

What had presumably been yesterday’s gothic party attire lay disheveled and wrinkled against her side. Titan, she needed a shower. 

She began to tug the collar of the dress over her head, but paused when she heard voices down the hall. No, not in the hall- in her siblings’ room.

“Are you kidding me? They seriously won’t admit us until we graduate?”

“Apparently it’s a Bonesborough policy… I can’t subvert this, Em.”

“Can’t we… I dunno, go under an alias for a while until we can legally buy the apartment?”

“They do an in depth background check. No dice. We just have to wait.” 

“That’s like six months, Ed! I…” Her sister faltered, dropping her volume significantly. She had to press her ear against the door to try and make out the rest. “With how Amity has been recently..? I’m afraid Dad is going to do something he’ll regret, or Mom will say too much, and Mittens, she-” A choked sob, or maybe a cough. Amity couldn’t really tell. “Look, I’m really worried. We’ve always at least had each other, and Amity… She's had nothing but fake friends from Mom and Dad all her life, and we always bowed out whenever bad things happened because they weren’t our problem. But now she’s found an actual, genuine friend, and if we just sit here and watch, we could have a repeat of the Willow situation. You know she doesn’t need any more emotional distress.” A thump, the creaking of bed springs. “I just… I can’t force myself to take a backseat with this again.”

Footsteps, closer to the door.

“No, I… I get that, Em. I don’t know to what extent we’ll be able to step in, but Titan, that won’t stop me from trying…” Her brother might have said more, but she had scrambled away before she could hear it, as his voice had reached concerning proximity to where she was sitting crouched against the wall. 

She didn’t think they would be mad, per se- but it might seem a little bit weird to find your little sister eavesdropping on a conversation about her.

Amity’s tired brain didn’t know exactly what to make of this new information, other than taking a mental note of possible escape by the end of the school year. It sounded good enough in her head, but surviving 8 months after the deep shit she had gotten herself into with her parents? She’d give herself a week, tops, before her dad got sick of her and threw the family embarrassment that she was off a balcony.

Damage control was never her forte, but she could always try her best to diffuse the situation when one of her parents inevitably came storming into her room to tell her all about how much trouble she was in.

She sat back on her bed, straining her mind for any stray memories, events she could cobble back together, but after the first hour or so of being at the party she blanked. She remembered awkwardly using Skara as a conversational centerpiece to moderate her and Boscha considering their unresolved conflict from Monday, Boscha getting very quickly shit-faced and pestering her about some drinking game, and then… nothing. 

_ The sun was just beginning to set, and the first chills of night swept past the three girls. Amity had come closer to around six o’clock per Skara’s request to still have some ‘personal time with her besties’ before the house became a wreck, but immediately regretted it upon noticing Boscha would also be there, as the only other person between her and Skara. _

_ If she noticed the awkward atmosphere, the birthday witch said nothing, dragging them along to show them different parts of the house where she had set stuff up- she had filled the living room with speakers to play her favorite music with the tv silently showing reels from her brief time as a grudgby cheerleader, stuffed the kitchen with an inhuman amount of alcohol she had stolen from her mother because they were both out on business for the weekend, and lined the halls with tables absolutely stocked with food.  _

_ Boscha, on the other hand, seemed to have zero tolerance for awkward conversation. Within the hour she was already nearly drunk, making some of the worst insensitive jokes Amity had ever heard and being a general nuisance just as other party guests began to trickle in.  _

_ Skara left the two of them alone, leaving to greet her other friends. She shifted awkwardly.  _

_ The grudgby player almost reeked of fine alcohol as she stood up in front of her.  _

_ “Hey, Amity.” A sloppy grin was plastered on her face. “We should go dance.” _

_ “I’ll have to pass, Boscha.” The smile didn’t falter as Boscha’s hand crept up to cradle Amity’s cheek. She slapped the appendage away, only eliciting a laugh from the other witch. _

_ “Always so bitter… who hurt you, Amy? Don’t you remember how close we were when we were younger?”  _

_ Amity declined to respond, turning her face to avoid the scent of intoxication coming off of Boscha. “Whatever. You aren’t worth the trouble.” She felt the ability to breathe finally come back to her as Boscha walked away.  _

_ “We should hang out later, once you’re done letting that human have her way with you. Way to represent your class!”  _

It was a strangely scathing comment that stuck with her as the memory faded from her mind.

She almost considered posting about it on her diary account, but before she could try to figure out where she had left it, her door was flung open, crashing familiarly against her wall. Even though she had practically been waiting for them to confront her, it startled her just enough to make her jump. 

Both her mom and dad, standing livid in her doorway.

She inhaled, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable shitstorm of a conversation she was going to have to navigate.

“Amity.” Her mom moved slowly, calculated, taking up a seat on the chair in front of her desk, while her father remained in the doorway, fuming with anger. “We need to discuss what happened last night.”

“I can’t remember last night. There’s no point.”

“We already don’t want to have this conversation, Amity. Don’t make this any more difficult than it already has to be.” Her mother’s voice was cold, still, but she detected a hint of something else in her eyes? Empathy, perhaps?

She almost laughed at herself. No, no, one will never hear the words ‘empathy’ and ‘Odalia’ in the same sentence unless it’s speaking on a lack thereof. 

“Your father and I… had a discussion last night, and came to terms with our own accountability. Per your wishes, Alador will be dropping all partnership attempts between you and Andrew.” 

Amity’s jaw went slack in shock. 

“But.” All too soon, of course. That deal with no strings attached was far too good to be true, especially coming from her mother. “Your completely offensive and reckless behavior recently was not caused entirely by that little hiccup. We’re looking into alternative solutions to this problem.”   
“Alternative solutions..?” she croaked. 

“Removing you from Hexside and placing you in a private education here. We know that school environments can be toxic, an individual schooling would remove all distractions from your life so that you may destroy these rebellious behaviors and study for your future.” Her father stepped forward, having regained his cool.

“We’re giving you one more chance to prove that you can behave in Hexside’s walls. If you fail to meet our expectations…”  _ …there will be harsh consequences. _ He didn’t say it, but the firm set expression of his brow did.

“Have we made ourselves clear?” Her mother asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh. But I do have some good news.” Her mother turned in the hallway, cold white beams framing her sharp features against the dark of her room. “We saw your grade in History of Abominations drop. Boscha already passed the course last year for an exchange program, so we’ve scheduled her as your new tutor every Sunday afternoon, starting next week.” She scrunched up her nose, glaring at the small pile of dirty laundry piling up in the corner. “Until then… do clean up. This room looks like a beast sty.” With that, she closed the door behind her and left Amity to stir in her thoughts.

The blue light washed over her face. This was her solace. 

Now wasn’t a time to think- after setting her resolve in openly becoming friends with Luz clashing with her parents' new ‘policy’ revolving around any behavior they considered inappropriate, the last thing she wanted to do was rethink all of it again.

She wanted to sleep, to just shut down, but the sheer amount of messages in her Penstagram inbox were making her too curious to roll over and rest.

The first one was from a girl she had talked to once or twice in Abominations. The next was one of Skara’s friends, then Skara herself, then Amelia, Bo, and, shockingly enough, Willow. She quickly scrolled through each. It was mostly photo files, followed up with a message along the lines of ‘is this you??’ or ‘did you post this?’.

A bad feeling stirred in her gut as she opened the file.

It was a blurry screenshot of a SacrelChat video, but that wasn’t significant. What was significant was the human in the photo, and beyond that, the witch she was kissing. Which was… Amity. It might have been blurry, but her shock of mint green hair was unmistakable.

But it couldn’t be real, right? The mere concept that she would ever lower herself to doing that was… was… 

She swallowed hard, trying to erase the image from her mind. Amity would never even consider admitting it out loud, let alone to herself, that the idea wasn’t appalling.

Titan, she was getting nowhere with herself.

“You want my… advice?  _ My _ advice?” 

Amity nodded begrudgingly, refusing to meet her sister’s eyes. 

“Never thought I’d live to see the day,” Emira said, grinning. “Come on in. Let’s talk.” The bed creaked as Amity sat down across the room from her sister. Now, how could she delicately word this as to not clue Emira in on what she was actually asking… 

“So. Let’s say, I’m in a moral conflict. If I follow the high path, it’ll probably suck a lot, but there’s probably treasure at the end. If I go on the low path, it’ll be easy but I won't be hap- won't have any treasure.” She twiddled her thumbs, rocking nervously in worry that her sister had picked up on what was going on. 

“Oh, hm… that’s a good question.” Emira cleared her throat, then stood and began to pace slowly. “On one hand- treasure. Moral, emotional, physical treasure, whatever. It depends on how badly you want to get this treasure. And is it even guaranteed that this treasure is on the other side?” 

Amity pondered for a moment.    
“No, I guess not.” 

Em snapped her fingers, pointing to her little sister. “Something to take note of. But- on the other hand…” She paused. “Life without taking chances is boring. What point is there to take the low road, if there isn’t anything in it for you?”

“Em, you’re confusing me.” 

She sighed, crossing the room to lay a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “I’m telling you to follow your heart, Mittens. Life is much too short to spend any more time wasting away in Mom and Dad’s restricted social bubble.” 

Amity froze, realizing what her sister was inferring. “You-”

“Know what you were referencing, yes. It’s not like something this interesting happens all that often. I know all the juicy details.” She met Amity’s anger with a look of mild amusement. “Don’t worry, Mittens. I’m not going to butt into your personal business with that human. I just want you to do what’ll make you happy, okay?”

Her mom had never been there for her when she needed it, like this.   
Her mom had seen her as a tool. Something to be used as a pawn in a game of chess, with her parents as the king and queen.

Amity had never experienced an attachment like this. When she clung to the back of Emira’s shirt, crying softly into her chest, Emira didn’t smack her away, or belittle her for feeling conflicted. Her sister continued to rub circles across her back until she finally felt her feelings subside. 

“Titan…” She sniffed. “I’ve been crying a lot recently, haven’t I?” Emira shook her head sadly, patting her back reassuringly. 

“It’s good to see you coming out of your shell, Amity.” 

She thought hard about it, tried to think back to a single occasion, but Amity truly couldn’t remember the last time she cried before the human showed up.    
She couldn’t recall feeling anything around her friends in the past, either, and that’s when she realized that was what set Luz apart from the others- an emotional connection worth risking her parents wrath for.

So, when she spotted a familiar red beanie in the hall (Luz must have owned a few of them, since the one Amity had stolen was still in her dresser), she did what she had promised herself she would do- take her leap of faith.

The human shot Amity a quizzical glance as she finally stepped into pace with her- which was considerably more difficult than it sounded considering her nearly five inch tall boots- and stared at her hands.    
She spoke first. “Hey.” 

Luz met her glance with apprehension. 

“A… are you dropping the ‘strangers’ thing?” The witch nodded, and she saw Luz’s shoulders visibly deflate. “Oh, good. I was worried you were going to deck me, with all the rumors going around…”

“Rumors?” They passed a group of girls who had been staring at both of them oddly, and she finally put the pieces together. “Ohhh. That photo. I didn’t think it would circulate that fast.” Luz’s face burned with shame as she passed a few boys, snickering at her expression.

“I- God, whoever took that picture better be thanking the Titan or whatever that I don’t know how to geotrack screenshots taken on a scroll. I swear, if I get my hands on them-'' She balled her fists then painfully opened them back up, exhaling defeatedly through her nostrils. “Sorry, I’m just… not really sure what to make of this whole situation.” 

Amity almost responded, but a booming announcement cut her thought off before she could.

“Ahem… Attention Hexside students! This is your principal speaking.” The halls suddenly fell silent. She noticed one of the colorful banners on the wall, and suddenly her stomach dropped. She had been so caught up in her emotional affairs that she had forgotten what time of year it was-  _ Grom season. _ “This year, I have the privilege to bestow our highest Grom honor to Willow Park!”

“Oh, thank the Titan.” Amity breathed, pressing her hand to her chest.

“Thank the Titan..?” Luz stared at the same poster, trying to make the connection. Though she wasn’t exactly sure what the human realm was like, she somehow doubted that they had their own Grometheus the Fear-Bringer and dedicated dance party.   
“They forced me to do it last year. It’s a shitty position for one unlucky witchling every year- I’m just glad it isn’t me.”

“That’s fair. I guess. I should probably go talk to Willow, though.”

“Wait!” It came out louder than she had wanted, accidentally attracting the attention of a few students nearby along with the human, but they luckily dispersed quickly. “I’m not one to fend off rumors. So…” She swallowed hard, feeling her hands already grow clammy. The witch had never even thought of asking somebody out before- it was making her far more nervous than she would care to admit. “Um… since everybody already thinks we’re dating, it would make sense if we went to Grom together.”

“Amity… are you asking me out?” Her hand was shaking. She shoved it into her shorts before continuing.

“I… uh… yeah. But it’s not like I like you or anything-!” The last part was supposed to come off as aloof, but her voice was wavering so much it just made her seem more nervous. 

Luz was silent for a moment that felt far longer than it should have lasted. Her hands writhed in the pockets of her pink trimmed school pride shorts as she contemplated turning around and leaving the conversation behind completely.

“What’s your favorite flower?” The words shook her from her internal state of panic. 

“Uh… hyacinths.”    
“Alright. I’ll pick you up, is that fine?” 

“I…” When she thought that she genuinely hadn’t expected anything but rejection, she had meant it. Shock seized her body as she tried to think of something,  _ anything _ , as a viable response. By the time anything wanted to come out, the human was already halfway down the empty hallway, waving a farewell- they were both late for class.

“I- Sure! That works!” Her response came out frantic, but it only seemed to amuse her. She giggled behind her raised sleeve before turning the corner and disappearing from sight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... beta willow's design was released,, hgg  
> if you think for a SECOND i will not be incorperating that absolute baddie into the story yall are sadly mistaken  
> in all seriousness tho, ALMOST 500 KUDOS?? thats crazy!! i honestly never expected this fic to get much attention so when i say that i am so incredibly grateful for each and every one of you readers, i mean it !!  
> As always, big big thank you to @kontraklarinette for beta'ing and to all my lovely commenters for brightening my day! hopefully, the next chapter will be out sooner now that im on break lmaoo


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song for this chapter is prom dress by mxmtoon  
> The amount of self-control I had to use. To not give Willow they/them pronouns. Pain

This was a nightmare. She was dumb to think that she could just magically pretend that she wasn’t on the verge of puking from how nervous and jittery she was based solely on the prospect of a date with Amity. She had to pull herself together enough to actually go on said date if she didn’t want to look like an idiot the whole time.

She thought of Amity’s eyes, hard with resolve that glittered like fine gold.

“I think I’m going to be sick-” Her stomach lurched and she ran to the kitchen sink, hurling up her lunch of a PB & J- or, now, a bunch of saturated mushy crumbs that stung coming up and filled her mouth with the taste of acid.    
“You… doing ok, kid?” Eda patted her back awkwardly as she spat into the sink in an attempt to get the flavor out of her mouth.    
“Urgh. I don’t know if saying yes to this whole Grom thing was a good idea.”

“Well.” Her mentor pondered. “I’m sure I could make room for 2 in the trash slug that just washed up on the beach the other day-“

“Nevermind!” Luz swallowed, trying her best to not look ill or anxious. “I should go get dressed now! Good talk!” She ran back upstairs, avoiding thinking about anything but what she would be wearing to Grom. 

Over the past week, she had moved her clothing into a closet- now she had better access to view the cumulative four outfits she owned.

Well, at least one of them was formal-ish(as long as combat boots were also considered appropriate).

“Hey, King! You like my fit?” After closing the bathroom door behind her after changing, she spun around to show off all the different angles. 

“Are you cosplaying one of those vampires from Azura? If so, you’re doing a fantastic job!” He snickered from his comfortable spot snuggled inside her old sleeping bag, laughing at his  _ oh so hilarious _ joke.   
“Thanks for the feedback.” She flopped beside him on the down stuffed parcel. “I wonder how Amity’s doing…”

“Ha! Probably not throwing up like you did!”

“Urgh.” Amity winced as her sister pulled up the zipper to her dress. “Em, is it normal to feel this nervous before Grom when you aren’t even the one fighting it?”    
“Well… maybe not ‘normal’, but given your unique situation? I’d say it’s only to be expected, Mittens.” Emira’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she brushed a few creases flat. “I know you were going to have her pick you up, but I think we’d be better off taking you… just in case Mom and Dad are watching.”

“That’s…” She almost wanted to argue the point, but she knew Emira was right. She was already seriously pushing it with going to Grom with the one person her parents specifically told her to stay away from- a missed ride was no big deal. Regardless, she could use the extra time to ensure she was put together before being thrown into a loud gym full of even louder teenagers. 

“Okay. I’ll text her.”   
**thatwitchbitch: Sorry. Something came up, I now have a mandatory ride to Grom- meet you there?**

Luz squinted at her screen. She had heard about the horrors of Amity’s parents from Willow before- it probably had something to do with that. They must have been some weirdly overprotective parents if that was the case, considering Amity was what, almost 17 at that point?

**luzing-noceda: kk**

“Ah, she’s fine with it. That’s good.” Emira read from over her shoulder. “You want me to do anything with your hair?”

“I’m fine. But I meant to ask… are you and Ed dropping the whole ‘matching outfits’ thing? I thought Ed was wearing something red this year.” 

Her sister puffed out her chest in pride, showing off the glittery sparkle in the bodice of her emerald green ballgown. “Actually, I got myself a date! So we’ll be matching instead. Not to say that the idea’s completely gone though… Mom just wasn’t in the mood to force us all into the matching sailor uniforms this year.”

“Oh!” Amity exclaimed.    
Maybe it had been a little selfish of her to only think about her own Grom date- she hadn’t even thought of the possibility of Emira going to the dance with somebody too.

“That’s… fantastic. I think..?” Her sister gave her a shrug and a halfhearted smile.   
“We all wish it was just that easy. With my luck, in a few weeks, you won’t be the only one harboring a secret relationship in this household anymore.”

Amity scrunched up her nose in dismay. “Oh, joy.”

Luz waved at Eda, her silhouette quickly disappearing over the horizon. The sky was already turning a deep navy, a chilling breeze warning her of the coming darkness of night. She ducked into the gym and quickly spotted her friends chatting next to the stage. 

Gus grinned when he saw her approaching, throwing out his hand, which she high fived eagerly. 

“Gus! Looking good!”

He winked as he straightened his tie.    
“Of course. You too, Luz! I love the ruffles- very sophisticated.” 

Allowing herself a small laugh, she turned to look over Willow and promptly froze.

“Oh, Willow, you, ah, cut your hair… and your dress…” She would be lying if she said Willow wasn’t absolutely owning her new choppy hair and upcycled waistcoat, but the sheer amount of blankness on her face was scaring her just a little bit. “You doing okay..?” 

She nodded, expression unchanging. “You’d be shocked what intensive Grom training can do to a person.”

“And you’re still feeling up to the challenge?”    
The witch’s glasses flashed white as she glanced down at the pit. After a moment of pondering, she responded. “Yeah.” Turning to her side, she glanced over the arsenal of weaponry she had to choose from. 

“Ooh, you’ve got some pretty useful looking stuff here-” Luz giddily picked up a chained mace, feeling its weight in her hands then putting it back. On the other hand, Willow didn’t seem even remotely interested in the array of blades, spikes, and various blunt hitty things. Instead, she dipped to one knee and nonchalantly slipped something from the bottom of the case into her pocket before straightening herself out and facing the culminating globs of Grom down in the arena. 

“I’m ready.” Gus took the words with certainty, dashing up to the stage to begin riling up the audience for the fight.

“Wait-” Luz whispered at her. She turned to meet her gaze quizzically. 

The human had been so caught up in the terrifying, bloodthirsty energy of the chanting she had almost forgotten why she had come to Grom in the first place. “Do you know where Amity is?”

“By the punch table. She’s staring at you.” Without missing a beat, she then began her descent into the dirt pit to face the enemy, holding nothing but a confident posture.

She took a few steps back of precaution, almost turning to go meet her date where Willow had spotted her, but not before snagging something from the case.

It was a red baseball bat. She had no idea they even played sports like that on the aisles- maybe it was another thing humans accidentally stole from this realm. Either way, she was definitely going to have fun with it. Hitting those annoying emperor’s coven guards with glyphs worked, but there really is nothing quite like cracking somebody’s head with a baseball bat.

Just as her friend had described, she found Amity skulking around the bleachers right beside the refreshments. As a greeting, she lightly nudged her shoulder with her elbow and sat down next to her.

“The Lord of the Flies vibes going around right now are pretty impeccable, right?”

“The what?”

“Nevermind.” She gulped nervously. How come all of her social skills and the ability to think rationally decided to not function  _ right _ as she needed them?

“Nice bludgeoning baton,” she remarked.    
“You mean… the baseball bat?”   
“No, that’s a bludgeoning baton.” The witch grabbed it from her, pointing to the nails protruding from the end of it that she hadn’t noticed at first. 

“Ah. I take it bludgeoning isn’t literal… unless you guys have some wildly different definition of the word here.”   
“It’s entirely possible.” Luz stole a glance towards the pit- it looked like Willow had reached the bottom and was now staring down the amalgamation, which despite its best efforts was failing to reach any decisive form. She dodged a limb of inky blackness with ease, and Gus’s voice boomed as he narrated her every step from his perch up on stage.

“Alrighty, folks! It appears that Grom cannot lay a finger on our fearless champion and therefore cannot deduct any of her fears! This is a good sign, but it doesn’t appear that she brought any weapons! How will she lay waste to the beast with only her bare hands?” His endless chattering droned on, and with every passing second, Luz felt her gut twist in unease.

She jumped a few rows of bleachers, watching over the edge nervously as Willow seamlessly weaved her way out of every trap that Grom threw at her. It was almost as if she were purposely avoiding being near it to accomplish something else, like-

“Gotcha.” From her place back at the mouth of the pit, she dropped something at her feet- a package of seeds. It only took a moment for the path she had walked around the mass to erupt in thorny vines, completely ensnaring Grom and twisting the mass apart until there was nothing left to fight.

With a decisive twist of her hands, the vines dispersed, and the fight was over.

“Grom is defeated! But what’s that I see? A piece escaped, and is now building up behind her-?” Luz whipped her head to the ramp, and sure enough, there it stood, taking a vaguely humanoid shape and marching towards a significantly exhausted-looking Willow.

“AMITY!” Luz shouted. “My bat!” 

The witch tossed it to her and she caught the handle with ease, turning to leap down the ramp.

All it took was a few steps and a wound-up stance and the baton smashed directly through the mass right before it reached Willow. 

That seemed to be it. The blobs soaked back into the turf, and the room erupted in applause.

“Whoo… good fight, Willow.” Her friend brushed a speck of Grom off her jacket as an unsettling grin crossed her features.

“You too.”

“By the way- you never told me that Bump let you join the plant track!”

“He didn’t.” She grinned. “I had to get his attention somehow.”

“That’s…” Her jaw opened and closed for a second as what Willow had said clicked in her head.    
She had done all of that magic with  _ no training _ ? “..just… Woah.”

“Mmm.” Willow pushed up her frames as they ascended the ramp, and she raised an eyebrow when Luz declined to put her weapon back. “I dunno if we’re allowed to keep this stuff.”

“Well, is there a rule that specifically says that?” 

She shrugged. “My lips are sealed, either way.” With a hiss of pressure, the weapon stands sunk back into the floor, giving some much needed space to the masses of students clumped around the bleachers and the outskirts of the flooring. For the first time that night, she didn’t have anything to worry about- and that made the daunting task of not fumbling over her words in front of Amity an even greater challenge, with her pretty hair and stupid pretty eyes and that glare she gave everybody including herself that she shouldn’t have enjoyed at all but did-

She needed to stop before she induced a panic attack. Luz was still processing that she had even got the opportunity to do something like go on a  _ date _ with Amity (even if school dances sucked), thinking over it any harder would just be far too much.

“I’d love to stick around and chat, but, uh, I actually have a date, so… I’m just gonna go.” 

Willow didn’t say a word, only stared into her back with a smug smile as Luz awkwardly approached Amity.

Maybe the gym was just dark, but her gaze seemed… softer than it had been earlier. 

It was probably a good sign, because just as she reached the foot of the bleachers, a new song began, and even if she wasn’t well versed in the music of the Aisles, she could tell fairly easily that it was a slow dance by the sway of the tune and the couples getting together on the dancefloor.

Their two worlds weren’t all that different after all, though she half expected another surprise monster or some fucked up magical possession ceremony to happen within the hour to stay true to her Boiling Aisles experience. A night out is never truly complete until you hear the agonizing screams of witches/demons pretending to be witches piercing the quiet of night.   
Amity had made her way down to the bottom of the bleachers, but didn’t seem to have any intention of actually doing anything, like, say, asking Luz to dance.

She sighed. This whole school dance thing was never something she enjoyed- and taking into account Amity’s newfound glare and folded arms, she somewhat doubted that her date had ever been a big fan of them either. High school dances were just the boring PG version of a house party except everybody  _ at _ the house party either sucks or doesn't want to be there, so it was to be expected, she supposed. Somebody as cool as Amity must have been invited to every single party to ever occur across the aisles, so Grom was probably like an afterparty to her. That is, if the afterparty was drug-free and by extension miserable. It would at least explain why she was staring at the wall opposite to them with so much malice it almost began to smolder.

She sighed heavily through her nostrils. If she had known that by agreeing to this whole date thing she was actually just agreeing to be ignored for bonus time outside school hours, she would have taken her chances with the trash slug.

Her hand trembled slightly, but she steeled herself, finally working up enough nerve to ask the witch to dance. She extended her arm towards Amity with a nervous smile. “You, uh, wanna dance? Since everybody else is doing it?” 

Amity didn’t respond, but her cheeks flushed a bit at the proposition. It wasn’t much of a clue, but it suggested a reason as to why the witch had been so quiet all night; dancing must have made her nervous! Given the library incident, it made sense, but it was nothing a little bit of Luz’s dancing magic couldn’t solve. 

“Amity,” she pressed. “I can show you how to dance if you don’t know how.”

“I don’t dance.”

“That’s not an excuse! What even is the point of asking somebody to go to a dance with you if you won’t dance with them? The purpose is  _ in _ the name.” 

Amity rolled her eyes but remained unmoving with her back against the side column of the bleachers. 

In an attempt to make the situation a little bit less painfully awkward, Luz tried to grab her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze, but as soon as her skin brushed Amity’s she knew it had been a mistake.

Amity almost jumped away at the contact, and in a moment of confusion, Luz called out to her.

“Amy, wait-”

“Stop it!” she snapped. “I don’t want to dance, you little-” As her words caught up to her, the witch’s angry rant came to a sudden standstill. “No- I… I’m sorry. This was a mistake.” 

Luz felt like she watched Amity tear away from her in slow motion, not looking back as she burst out the gymnasium’s doors. 

What the actual fuck was wrong with this girl?

First, she asks Luz out, totally out of the blue after literal weeks of them picking fights in Abomintions (even if it was almost entirely Amity’s fault), and then she blows her off for asking to dance?

God, Luz’s taste for problematic women with lots of underlying issues was going to be the death of her.   
So, like the little problematic woman chaser she was, she followed the path Amity had taken and crossed the dancefloor, stepping outside onto the pavement. It wasn’t like she had anything else better to do; people had already started to stare at her like she was crazy after her date came unglued, so just sitting around was shaping up to be her least likable option. 

It didn’t take long to find her. The pink ruffled lace was noticeable from a mile away, even though it was more muted in color than the one she usually wore to school. 

Her knees were tucked against her chest while she stared off into the distance longingly. She looked like something straight out of a painting, and it almost pained her to interrupt. Looking at those stars, she seemed so… at peace. 

“Hey,” She began tenatively. Amity’s head whipped around at her voice.

“You should just go home. I don’t want to mess up your night even more than I already have.”

“No, I… Amity. You didn’t mess up anything. I just want to know what’s going on with you.” Luz sat down a few feet beside her, giving her plenty of room considering her on-edge attitude.

“I’m fine.” 

Luz snickered. “Yeah, and I’m a griffin. You can drop the bullshit act. Tell me what’s actually wrong.” 

Amity curled her fist, letting her fingers unfurl slowly. She did the exercise a few times before responding.

“I guess it’s…” She swallowed hard, and the waiver disappeared from her voice. “You’re just too similar to Boscha. Pushy, inconsiderate-” Her voice caught in her throat abruptly, and she stopped talking, almost as if she wanted to prevent herself from saying anything regretful. Not that she thought that she meant enough to Amity to earn that, but it was all she could think of.

“Boscha?” She gaped. “Amy, what are you talking about..?”

“Do  _ not _ call me ‘Amy’. My name is Amity. Use it.” 

“O-ok…” Luz leaned forward onto her folded legs, letting her posture deflate. “So, Amity. Mind telling me what I did?”

“You…” Amity’s jaw set. “You didn’t really do that much wrong. I was just hoping that you would leave me alone after I compared you to Boscha.” 

“Because..?”

“Because-! I don’t know!” She threw up her hands, exasperated. “This was just a terrible idea. I’ve always hated school dances, the awkward pressure to dance with people… and I don’t know why I suddenly decided that this year was going to be different just because you were coming because it clearly wasn’t, it still sucks and I don’t want to be here.” Amity huffed, looking away again. She didn’t look mad anymore, more embarrassed than anything as she stared at her feet.

“Well.” Luz moved to stand in front of the witch. Her ears perked up slightly with the crunch of gravel, a detail she had hardly ever been close enough to notice before. It was kind of cute. “What I’m hearing is, ‘I don’t like school dances and because I asked you to come here now it’s just weird’, am I following?” 

“I guess, but fuck off with your psychoanalyzing please.”

“Rude,” she muttered, “Anyways, we're in agreement about that first part. School dances blow.” Luz thought back to school dances back home. Her mom always encouraged her to go, as if it would help her to go and see the exact same people who didn’t like her in a formal setting where they could make fun of her fashion sense on top of everything else. She usually just pocketed the money and hung out at the park until it got dark, or sometimes took it and spent it somewhere in the little indoor mall near her house. “I actually had an idea though, if you were down for a little adventure- but if you just want to go home instead, I understand.”

“Adventure..?” 

“Have you ever seen the human realm before, Amity?”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as a wise person once said, 'it's not a true elderon fic if the pov doesn't flip flop at least 3 times in one chapter at some point' or something like that.  
> if u comment ily <333 pls <333 i crave recognition and it gives me the motivation i need to finish the next chapter <333


End file.
